Recipes
Pupusa
For the latest instalment of Chef's Table, we travelled with the World Food Programme to El Salvador to look at the role of food in countering gang violence. Host and World Food Programme Chef Advocate Arthur Potts Dawson will lead a cross-continent cook-along with Salvadoran Chef Frank Arevalo, bringing us a deeper understanding and appreciation of the food culture of El Salvador.
Ingredients
- Curtido (coleslaw)
- ½ head green cabbage, cored and shredded
- 1 small white onion, sliced
- 2 medium carrots, grated (washed & unpeeled)
- 4 cups boiling water (960 ml)
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar (240 ml)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp sea salt flakes
- Pupusa Dough
- 4 cups masa harina (450 g) (ground corn meal)
- 1 beetroot (boiled, peeled, grated)
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 3 cups cold water (720 mL)
- Filling
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (100 g)
- 1 cup refried beans, cooked (240 g)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
- Salsa
- 10 tomatoes (ripe)
- 1 green bell pepper
- ½ white onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ltr of water
- 3 or 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp of white vinegar (optional)
- 1 jalapeño (optional)
- Salt and Dried Oregano to taste
Method
- CURTIDO: In a bowl, mix your cabbage, carrots and onion. Add boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain the water and let it rest for 5 more minutes in a closed container.
- In a separate bowl add vinegar, salt and oregano then add this mixture to the closed container with the vegetables. This can be left overnight for the vegetables to absorb the flavour.
- PUPUSA DOUGH: Sieve the flour into a bowl.
- Blend the beetroot with the water and salt until smooth, incorporate the mixture and flour little by little until the dough is firm and with the color of the beetroot.
- FILLING: Grate the mozzarella cheese.
- Fry the beans so that they consume the liquid and have a thick sticky consistency.
- ASSEMBLE: Heat a griddle or pan with oil on a medium high temperature.
- Wet your hands with a little oil.
- Grab about 2 ounces of dough and shape it into a ball with our hands.
- Flatten the ball with your hands into a circular shape.
- Place beans and cheese in the middle of the circular shape and close the dough to make a ball again.
- Re-flatten the ball with your hands making sure that the filling does not fall out. It is important that our hands are a little greasy or wet to prevent the dough from sticking to our fingers or palm.
- Cook for 4 minutes per side or until the pupusa begins to brown.
