These Salvadoran-style cheese pupusas are thick corn griddle cakes with a sealed cheese filling. They work as a shared lunch, a snack or part of a simple supper. This version uses low-moisture mozzarella as an accessible melting cheese, with prepared curtido as an optional tangy accompaniment.
8 pupusas (4 servings) · Prep: 25 minutes · Cook/bake: about 24 minutes · Total: about 49 minutes
At a glance
Salvadoran-Style Cheese Pupusas
- Prep time
- 25 min
- Cook time
- 24 min
- Total time
- 49 min
- Yield
- 8 pupusas (4 servings)
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 240 g | (2 cups) masa harina for tortillas, not ordinary cornmeal |
| ½ tsp | fine salt |
| 360 ml | (1½ cups) warm water, plus 1–3 tbsp as needed |
| 200 g | (about 1¾ cups) shredded low-moisture mozzarella |
| 2 tsp | neutral oil for hands and pan, used as needed |
| — | Prepared curtido, for serving (optional) |
Instructions
- Mix the masa harina and salt. Add 360 ml warm water and knead briefly into a soft dough. Cover and rest for 10 minutes, included in preparation time. If the dough cracks when flattened, knead in extra water a tablespoon at a time; if sticky and hard to handle, dust in a little masa harina.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and the cheese into 8 portions. Lightly dampen or oil your hands. Flatten a dough ball into a cup, place one portion of cheese in the center, then bring the dough edges up and seal completely.
- Gently pat the filled ball into a disk about 10 cm (4 inches) across and 8–10 mm thick. Repair cracks with damp fingers. Repeat with the remaining portions.
- Heat a large heavy skillet that holds 4 pupusas over medium heat and wipe with a little oil. Cook in 2 batches, allowing about 4–6 minutes per side, until spotted golden brown and cooked through. Lower the heat if the surfaces brown before the center warms.
- Keep the cooked pupusas warm under a clean towel while finishing the batches. Check the first one: the dough should be cooked through and the cheese melted. Serve warm with the optional prepared curtido.
Masa harina is not the same as cornmeal
Use nixtamalized masa harina sold for tortillas or pupusas. Its water absorption varies by brand and with resting time, so judge the soft, pliable dough rather than using water by volume alone. Seal before flattening and avoid pressing so thin that the cheese breaks through.
Contains milk. Check the masa harina and accompaniments for other allergens; use certified gluten-free masa harina if needed. Curtido is a separate prepared accompaniment, not included in the preparation time.
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