Bean and Cheese Pupusas

These delicious stuffed corn cakes are the national dish of El Salvador and can be made with any combination of beans, cheese, and meat

Difficulty

Intermediate

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 cups masa harina, commonly sold as the brand name "maseca"2 ^1/2 cups water1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon ground cumin2 cups refried beans2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded Olive oil for hands

Equipment

Measuring cupsMeasuring spoonsLarge panSpatulaBowls of various sizesGrater

Gather your mise en place; get together all of the equipment needed for the recipe and gather your ingredients.

Measure out the masa, water, salt and cumin. Measure out the water. Grate the cheese.

Combine masa harina, salt, cumin and water in a mixing bowl until smooth; Time for a dough a massage. Kneading is as simple as pushing the dough away from you with the heel of your palm, folding it over itself with your fingers, and pulling it back. This process helps develop gluten & gives a nice chewy texture.knead well.

Cover with a towel and let stand for 10 minutes.

Lightly oil your hands and form 8 balls with the dough. Pat each ball with your hands and form 4 disks, then with your thumb, shape each one into cups.

Fill each cup with a spoonful of refried beans and cheese. Flatten by patting each cup to form disks again, but now with filling inside.

Cook each pupusa over a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high, 3 – 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Serve warm with slaw and salsa on the side.