Pupusas With Variations

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups masa harina
• 1 cup warm water

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, mix together the masa harina and water. knead well. knead in more water, one tablespoonful at a time, if needed to make a moist, yet firm dough. (it should not crack at the edges when you press down on it.) cover and set aside to rest 5-10 minutes.
• 2 roll dough into a log and cut into 8 equal portions. roll each portion into a ball. press a hole in each ball with your thumb. put about 1 tablespoon of desired filling into each ball. fold the dough over to completely enclose it. press the ball out with your palms to form a disc, taking care that that the filling doesn't spill out.
• 3 line a tortilla press with plastic and press out each ball to about 5-6 inches wide and about 1/4-inch thick. if you don't have a tortilla press, place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap and roll it out with a rolling pin.
• 4 heat an ungreased skillet over medium-high heat. cook each pupusa for about 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and blistered. remove to a plate and hold warm until all pupusas are done. serve with curtido and salsa roja.
• 5 variations:.
• 6 pupusas de queso: with a cheese filling. use grated quesillo, queso fresco, farmer's cheese, mozzarella, swiss cheese or a combination. add some minced green chile if you like.
• 7 pupusas de chicharrones: with a filling of fried chopped lamb and a little tomato sauce. a reasonable facsimile can be made by grinding 1 cup of cooked bacon with a little bit of tomato sauce in a food processor.
• 8 pupusas de frijoles refritos: with a refried bean filling.
• 9 pupusas revueltas: use a mixture of chicharrones, cheese and refried beans.
• 10 pupusas de queso y loroco: with a cheese and tropical vine flower filling. loroco can be found in jars at many latin markets.
• 11 pupusas de arroz: a variety of pupusa that uses rice flour instead of corn masa.
• 12 cooked potatoes or finely minced, sautéed jalapeño peppers are also tasty fillings. you can also try a mixture of different fillings.