Thursday, July 29, 2010

El Salvador


I have a new food obsession (surprise, surprise!)-- El Salvadorian pupusas! I think these are El Salvador's answer to comfort food, because eating them sure puts me in a happy place! I made these for dinner last night and they turned out great (even my kids LOVED them, which is always a huge plus!). I always thought they would be tricky to make; whenever I order them at the restaurant up the street, they take forever to come out. But they were really quick and easy!
There are many ways to make pupusas. A pupusa is like a thick corn flour pancake filled with either beans, cheese, beans and cheese, or beans, cheese and pork (which is called Pupusas Revueltas). It is served with tomato sauce to pour on top or dip bites into, and curtido on the side. Curtido is a kind of cabbage slaw. Traditionally the cabbage and carrot are boiled down and pickled with vinegar and salt, but there are many variations of curtido these days.
For dinner I decided to go with the bean and cheese pupusas. My curtido turned out fabulous too! I didn't boil it down, but rather kept all of the ingredients fresh. I added green onion, cilantro, serrano and red wine vinegar to my shredded red cabbage and carrot, making an amazingly flavorful curtido with just the right crunch! As for the tomato sauce, it is exactly
that-- sauce out of a can! Buy a good quality brand, warm it and serve it on the side in a ramekin. Easy!
I hope my pupusas put you in a happy place, too. Buen provecho!
Photo credit: Sommer Clary for Global Kitchen, 2010
Recipe links:
Pupusas
Curtido

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