Pupusas with Curtido

El Salvador’s stuffed masa cakes — filled with refried black beans and melting cheese, dry-griddled until speckled, and served with curtido, a vinegar cabbage slaw.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Flatbreads section and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

Curtido (make ahead)

• ½ head (about 550 g) green cabbage, shredded (about 8 cups)
• 1 small onion (150 g), thinly sliced
• 1 large carrot (145 g), grated
• 113 g (½ cup) white vinegar
• 170 g (¾ cup) water
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• ¾ teaspoon table salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Refried black beans

• 2 tablespoons (25 g) olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup (142 g) diced onion

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

• 170 g (¾ cup) water
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1–2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder, optional

Masa

• 462 g (5 cups) masa harina
• 2 teaspoons table salt
• 756 g (3⅓ cups) warm water, about 100 °F

Filling and shaping

• 226 g (2 cups) shredded Oaxaca cheese, Monterey Jack or mozzarella
• 170 g (¾ cup) water whisked with 25 g (2 tablespoons) vegetable oil, for your hands

Directions

1. Curtido. Toss the cabbage, onion and carrot in a bowl. Whisk the vinegar, water, oregano, salt and pepper and pour over. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
2. Beans. Soften the garlic and onion in the oil over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, water and spices and simmer on low about 15 minutes. Blend or mash to a lumpy paste that holds its shape. Cool.
3. Masa. Mix the masa harina, salt and warm water about 5 minutes, until smooth and fairly firm. If sticky, add masa harina; if a squeezed ball cracks, add water. Divide into 14 balls of about 85 g and keep covered.
4. Fill. Dip your hands in the water-and-oil mixture. Press your thumb into a ball and widen it into a small bowl. Fill with about 2 teaspoons beans and 1–2 tablespoons cheese. Close the dough over the filling and pinch shut. Pat between your palms into a round 4–4½ inches across, pinching any tears closed. Set on a greased or parchment-lined tray, covered.
5. Cook in a large nonstick pan over medium, or a cast-iron griddle, without oil, 4–6 minutes a side, until browned and speckled.
6. Serve hot with curtido and a thin tomato salsa.

Notes

Source Adapted from Molly Marzalek-Kelly, “Pupusas,” King Arthur Baking. Her recipe also adds diced quick-pickled jalapeño to the filling (1 heaping teaspoon each), and the chipotle in the beans is hers; a plain pupusa de frijol con queso is beans and cheese only. Lauren Rothman’s Serious Eats version fries in a lightly oiled cast-iron skillet, about 4 minutes a side, instead of cooking dry.

Curtido This is a quick vinegar slaw. Some Salvadoran cooks let curtido ferment; neither source gives that version.

The Flatbreads section of the Breads pages on the Food site covers the history, the science and the griddles.