Salvadoran Stuffed Masa Cakes Recipes

PUPUSAS DE CHICHARRóN (SALVADORAN PORK-STUFFED MASA CAKES)

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil with the bay leaf. As soon as it starts boiling, turn off heat. Add cabbage and let sit for about 2 minutes. Drain.
• In a glass container, combine cabbage with rest of the ingredients. Let it sit for at least 4-6 hours before using.
• Season pork chunks with salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder.
• Heat oil in a medium-size skillet to medium heat. Add pork chunks and cook until golden brown. Add water, cover and cook until all liquid has evaporated and pork is fully browned and crispy.
• After cooking is done, in a food processor, process pork chunks, tomatoes, onion and green peppers in batches. The consistency should be pasty and NOT too watery. This is the filling.
• In a medium bowl, combine masa harina, salt, pepper and water. Work the dough until dough is soft but still firm. You may need to adjust the water. Divide into 10 -12 balls. Set aside.
• Heat a comal or griddle over medium heat.
• In a small bowl, combine about 2 cups of water with a few drops of oil. (Yes, water and oil do not mix, but this mixture will prevent dough from sticking to your hands.)
• Wet your hands with water-oil mixture.
• Grab a ball of masa, flatten it out in your hands-very much like a thick tortilla-put a spoonful of chicharrón in the center. Bring edges of the "tortilla" to the center to "close it up" and flatten in between your palms.
• Cook each pupusa on the hot comal for about 2 minutes per side.
• Serve with curtido.

CHEESE PUPUSAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the salt well into the masa harina. With your hands, knead the water into the masa harina in a few additions; work in all the water evenly. The dough will feel like stiff mashed potatoes. Lay a 12-inch square of plastic wrap or a zip-lock on a smooth work surface.
• Divide the cheese into 9 equal piles. Roll a 2-ounce ball of dough in your hands, about the size of a golf ball, and pat it out in your hand to form a disc a little larger than your palm. (If the dough is very sticky, lightly moisten or oil your hands.) Pat a pile of cheese onto the masa, leaving just a little space around the edges (cup your hand slightly if it helps). Carefully close your hand to bring the edges of the disc closer, and use your other hand to pat and pinch it together to enclose the cheese in a rough ball. Patch any holes with a little more masa, but don't worry too much - cheese that leaks out will brown deliciously in the pan. Moisten or oil the plastic wrap, and pat out the pupusa on it, forming a disc about 4 inches wide. Repeat, forming a second pupusa.
• Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, and very lightly grease it with oil. When the oil appears thin, lay the pupusas in the pan, and cook until richly browned in spots, about 4 minutes. (If you can fit 3 or 4 pupusas at a time in the pan, increase heat to medium-high.) It's O.K. if the cheese starts to bubble out. Flip the pupusas, and cook another 4 minutes, until they're browned and cooked through. Serve finished ones immediately with curtido, and repeat forming and cooking the remaining pupusas.

SALVADORAN STUFFED MASA CAKES

Steps:

• Toss together cheese, beans, pork rind, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with your hands, then press mixture firmly into 16 (1 1/2-inch) balls (for filling).
• Combine tortilla flour, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and knead with your hands until a uniform dough forms, about 1 minute. (Dough should be moist but not sticky. If necessary, knead a little more tortilla flour or water into dough.)
• Flatten 1/4 cup dough between moistened palms into a 4-inch disk. Wrap disk around a ball of filling, enclosing it, and form into a smooth ball. Reflatten between your palms into a 4-inch disk (1/2 inch thick; filling should remain hidden). Put on a tray lined with plastic wrap and cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Make 15 more pupusas.
• Heat a comal or large (2-burner) griddle over medium-low heat until hot, at least 2 minutes. Brush lightly with oil, then cook pupusas in batches, turning and pressing lightly with a metal spatula every 2 to 3 minutes, until crusty and browned in spots (some cheese may ooze out), 10 to 12 minutes total per batch. Serve immediately.