On to the Letter E…
While doing research for Djibouti, my first thought for E was Ethiopia. I really enjoy Ethiopian food and it immediately brought back memories of the mason jars of berbere that my UCSF co-worker, Mewded, would make and bring in for me. It is by far the best berbere spice I have ever had.
But… my mind also went to a coworker of mine at San Francisco General named Alicia. Alicia was from El Salvador and would bring in the most fabulous pupusas she made. Having cooked my share of Ethiopian food – and never having made Salvadoran food – I went to El Salvador.
Another huge contributing factor in going to El Salvador was our friend Paige who was a travel writer for Lonely Planet and Explorer’s Great Destinations among other publications, and has several books out on El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and the rest of Central America. The old website I created for her years ago had a rudimentary pupusa recipe in the El Salvador section. I’ve copied it for you:
Make Delicious Pupusas At Home
If you don’t have a Salvadoran barrio (neighborhood) nearby, you can still make pupusas yourself. Begin with prepared tortilla flour, such as Maseca brand (available in the USA), and follow instructions for masa, or dough. For simple cheese pupusas (pupusas de quesillo), use the soft white “fresh” cheese sometimes available at Latino groceries, or substitute three cups of shredded mozzarella mixed with cream cheese or ricotta. Add four tablespoons heavy cream and one cup of loroco, an edible flower native to El Salvador, or substitute chopped green pepper and scallions. Salt to taste and mix to a paste.
For pupusas de chicharrón (sausage pupusas), traditionally made with wild boar, sauté 1 cup bacon with garlic, tomatoes and green pepper; for pupusas mixtas (mixed pupusas), make your favorite pot of beans, then mix with all of the above.
Next, pat two balls of masa (about 2 tbsp each) to 1cm (half an inch) thick, then add a dollop of filling on top of one pancake, and press the other on top, crimping them together firmly at the edges. Lightly grease a large frying pan and set at 350-degrees F, then grill (this could take several flips) until lightly browned and crispy. Serve with a thin tomato sauce, some curtido (pickled cabbage), and enjoy the taste of old El Salvador in your own home.
There are as many recipes for pupusas as there are for Italian Marinara, so… it does allow for some play – or, at least, merging of recipes.
There are three components to pupusas – The curtido (cabbage), the filling (pork, cheese, and beans), and the masa dough. I made the curtido and the filling the day before since I had never made them before and wanted to make sure I didn’t screw them up.
Pupusas
adapted from several online recipes
Curtido
- ½ head green cabbage, cored and shredded
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 2 medium carrots, grated
- 1 jalapeño pepper, sliced thin
- 4 cups boiling water
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Chicharrón
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 lb boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- ½ green bell pepper, diced
- 1 small white onion, diced
Pupusa Dough
- 4 cups masa harina
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups cold water
Filling
- 1 cup grated Oaxaca melting cheese
- 1 cup refried bean, cooked
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for frying
Make the curtido:
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, onion, jalapeño, and carrots. Pour the boiling water over the vegetables and toss. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain.
In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine the vinegar, oregano, and salt. Pour over the slaw and toss to coat. Once thoroughly mixed, transfer the curtido any any leftover liquid in the bowl to an airtight jar or container.
Chill for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator, or chill overnight for best results.
Make the chicharrón:
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork shoulder and salt. Cook for 15 minutes without disturbing. Turn the pork over and let cook on the other side for 10 minutes more, or until crispy and golden brown.
Transfer the pork to a food processor and add the tomato, green bell pepper, and onion. Pulse until a thick paste forms. (The mixture should not be watery.) Set aside.
Make the pupusa dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the masa harina and salt, then add the water. Use your hands to mix until the dough comes together with a clay-like texture.
Fill a small bowl with water and a bit of oil and set near your work station. You’ll wet your fingers with the mixture as you work to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
Take a golf ball-sized portion of dough and roll into a ball, then flatten into an even round.
Fill the dough round with ½ tablespoon chicharrón paste, 1 teaspoon refried beans, and 1 teaspoon cheese. Fold the dough over the filling until it’s completely sealed. Then, pat out the ball between your hands until flat. If the pupusa cracks, patch it with a bit of dough and a little oil. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Heat a large pan or griddle over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil, then place pupusas on the pan and cook for 2-4 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side for 2-4 minutes more, until golden brown and warmed through. Repeat with the remaining pupusas.
Serve the pupusas with curtido.
Pollo Encebollado
adapted from several online recipes
- ¼ c unsalted butter
- 4 bone-in chicken breasts, halved
- 4 medium yellow onions, cut into thick slices
- 1 c chicken stock
- 4 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 tsp of poultry seasoning
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- ¼ c sour cream
Heat 2 tbsp butter in a large sauté pan over medium flame.
Working in batches, brown the chicken in the butter about 5 minutes on each side, salting them as you go. Once browned, remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Add the remaining butter and the onions to the same pan. Slowly sauté until caramelized.
Add the spices and cook for a moment.
Add the stock and carefully deglaze the bottom of the pan. Then add the worcestershire and mustard, mix well and bring to a boil.
Nestle the chicken back into the pan, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the top and stir in sour cream. Cook for an additional 5 minutes uncovered on medium heat.
Check for seasoning and add additional S&P as desired.
Salvadoran Rice
adapted from online recipes
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper (diced)
- 1/4 cup white onion (diced)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons celery (minced, 1 celery stalk)
- 2 tablespoons carrots (minced, 4 baby carrots)
- 1 roma tomato (diced)
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1/2 tablespoon knorr chicken bouillon powder
- salt to taste
Heat the oil in a sauté pan on medium high heat. Add the rice, bell pepper, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and tomato and sauté until the rice is no longer translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the water and the Knorr chicken bouillon powder and stir. Bring mixture to a boil and taste the liquid. Add salt or more chicken bouillon powder if needed to taste.
Cover and cook on medium low for 20 minutes. Turn heat off and allow the rice to sit for 10 minutes.
This is the sort of meal that needs a crowd. The amount of work to pull just three dishes off was pretty wild. Fortunately I am retired! We invited Phoebe and Nancy over to share in the fun and even cutting back amounts was way more food than 4 of us could handle. Gee. Leftovers. How sad. NOT!
The pupusas were really good! I think Alicia’s were better, but I last had hers 35-ish years ago. Memory is a strange thing. The chicken was outstanding! Who knew a mere quarter-cup of sour cream could enhance a dish so well. The onions were silky sweet and the chicken perfectly moist and tender.
The curdito was a fun surprise. Properly crunchy, properly vinegary, and properly spicy from the jalapeño. It really went well with everything.
I was a bit surprised with the rice. With all the ingredients, I was expecting a lot more flavor. It was really good – not bland by any means – but it didn’t have the punch my mind was expecting. That being said, it was perfect with the chicken and I will definitely make it, again.
In fact, all of it is something I will make again!
Now off to discover F…
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I can attest, everything was DELICIOUS!