Recipe from Janet Lainez
Adapted by Francis Lam
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- 4(459)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Cheese pupusas — stuffed, griddled masa cakes — and their accompanying slaw, curtido, are quintessential Salvadoran street foods. This recipe is adapted from Janet Lainez, who has been making them for homesick Latinos every summer at the Red Hook Ball Fields for nearly 25 years. She likes to use mozzarella rather than Salvadoran cheese — preferably Polly-O, established in Brooklyn, 1899. —Francis Lam
Featured in: The Corn Cakes of Red Hook
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Ingredients
Yield:9 pupusas (3 to 4 servings)
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 2cups masa harina (9 ounces by weight)
- 1½cups water
- 12ounces industrial mozzarella, grated (preferably Polly-O whole milk)
- Vegetable oil, as needed
- Curtido, for serving (see recipe)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
489 calories; 24 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 544 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a large bowl, mix the salt well into the masa harina. With your hands, knead the water into the masa harina in a few additions; work in all the water evenly. The dough will feel like stiff mashed potatoes. Lay a 12-inch square of plastic wrap or a zip-lock on a smooth work surface.
Step
2
Divide the cheese into 9 equal piles. Roll a 2-ounce ball of dough in your hands, about the size of a golf ball, and pat it out in your hand to form a disc a little larger than your palm. (If the dough is very sticky, lightly moisten or oil your hands.) Pat a pile of cheese onto the masa, leaving just a little space around the edges (cup your hand slightly if it helps). Carefully close your hand to bring the edges of the disc closer, and use your other hand to pat and pinch it together to enclose the cheese in a rough ball. Patch any holes with a little more masa, but don’t worry too much — cheese that leaks out will brown deliciously in the pan. Moisten or oil the plastic wrap, and pat out the pupusa on it, forming a disc about 4 inches wide. Repeat, forming a second pupusa.
Step
3
Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, and very lightly grease it with oil. When the oil appears thin, lay the pupusas in the pan, and cook until richly browned in spots, about 4 minutes. (If you can fit 3 or 4 pupusas at a time in the pan, increase heat to medium-high.) It’s O.K. if the cheese starts to bubble out. Flip the pupusas, and cook another 4 minutes, until they’re browned and cooked through. Serve finished ones immediately with curtido, and repeat forming and cooking the remaining pupusas.
Ratings
4
out of 5
459
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Cooking Notes
Marci Pierce Cano
As pupusas are Salvadoran, use a mixture of Salvadoran white cheese and a high quality mozzarella.
Curtido and the red sauce are essential.
Curtido is simple to make (1/2 a cabbage + lg carrot slivered and blanched, add a sliced jalapeño + salt/pepper/oregano, pickle in 1/2 vinegar: water; white plus splash of ACV is nice).
My Salvadoran MIL's trick for quick red sauce is chicken broth/vinegary hot sauce/tomato paste. Adjust ratio to your liking in a saucepan and there you have it.
Sara
Dough is similar consistency to homemade tortillas, so used the tortilla press. Filled pupusas don't press as evenly as plain masa, and would have benefited from a 180-degree turn and second gentle press.
As always, squares of parchment paper are so much better than plastic wrap or waxed paper for anything masa-based.
Jules
I love pupusas & make them all the time for breakfast. Any melty, stretchy, mild cheese is good (even Swiss can taste amazing, believe it or not) but for contrast it’s essential to make a really flavorful curtido. I make a jacked-up, multi-culti version that mixes sauerkraut, shredded green cabbage, cilantro, vinegar, thyme, olive oil, and a small dollop of sambal sauce. Yeah it’s good.
Donna lee
We eat these with red beans and rice or with salsa. The corn flavor of the masa is wonderful.
You can freeze them before cooking. Put them in single rows on a platter and freeze. When frozen put them in a freezer bag. They can be cooked frozen and taste the same.
I have also filled them with shredded pork and cheese. Yummy!
Tia
You'll need to go to a Salvadoran market and look for "Queso Duro" with a Salvadoran flag on it. It looks kinda like feta. I like using a mix because the mozzarella has a bit more of a stretch to it. The loroco flower is also common in cheese pupusas. Usually found in the frozen section of Latino grocery stores.
ellen
What the heck is industrial mozzarella?
Margarita
The trick to having soft pupusas is using shortening or lard instead of oil. Quesillo is the right cheese to use. It is similar to mozzarella, but salted. You can also stuff them with refried beans or ground “chicharron”. I think the call it “crackling” in the US
salsa roja
Use wax paper instead of plastic Salvadoran salsa -4 roma tomatoes1⁄4 small white onion1 small garlic clove4 serrano chilies4 cups water1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder1 teaspoon canola oil1 teaspoon vinegarPlace the first 5 ingredients in the blender and blend on high.Heat the canola oil on medium high heat and pour the salsa into the pan.Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Add the vinager and the chicken bouillon powder and continue boiling for 10 minutes until the salsa
Laura
Not fresh made. Industrial like Polly o is much dryer. It’s what you’ll get in any supermarket
Tota
I think these need more flavorful cheese than mozzarella.
Robert
Three years in El Salvador introduced me to many variations of papusas. My favorite was the use of rice flour instead of masa.
Amanda
Did you try them with curtido and salsa? It makes a big difference.
Alice
If you want to give it a bit more zip, use a grated pepper jack cheese or even a sharp cheddar. We also serve guacamole on the side which gives it some nice additional flavor.
Juan
I'm from El Salvador and when my mom and I moved to Washington, DC, she would use shredded mozzarella when she couldn't find quesillo (the cheese used in El Salvador). Now that I'm in Mexico City, I use Queso Oaxaca. I shared this with my mom and she gave me the stamp of approval!
Kaia
These were plenty easy to make but lacked flavor and were totally bland. Even a bit of salt added to the masa and/or cheese filling would have helped, though the accompanying curtida was good and helped give the pupusas some pizzazz. Overall, pretty disappointing. I'll look for a bean-and-cheese pupusa recipe next time.
Cody Eyman
I’ve made these many times as 4 mins per side doesn’t ever cook them. I need about twice that to cook through.
Gabrielle
Question - does masa harina in this recipe mean a ground corn product like Maseca? Masa is the prepared dough, and I think that mixing water into it would produce a soupy mess.
PGH
What is “Industrial mozzarella” ? The sound of it does not make me want to make this.
Susan
These were wonderful and were very easy to make! No tortilla press, no parchment or plastic. Just a little water on my hands to shape the masa around the cheese, and then pressed and flattened by hand onto heated seasoned grill pan with no oil. Used an organic masa (Bob's Red Mill) which probably boosted the flavor. The cheese was a little bland. I'd be tempted to mix the mozzarella with a bit of queso fresco next time.
sasha petrenko
The first time I tried to make papusas and they were so tender and good! Really easy. I think I'll be making these pretty regularly. Next time I'll make the curtado too. Yum!
Vida
These turned out great and are very easy to make. I added an extra 1/4 tsp of salt. 12 oz of mozzarella was way too much, there is no way I'd be able to fill that much into the dough. Next time I'll start by shredding 4oz.
George
A variety of fillings could be used in addition to cheese. Ham, jalapeños, anything to add flavor. Quick and easy to prepare with almost no prep. Most important you can use up leftover odds and ends from your refrigerator.
Lisa
love pupusas & make them all the time for breakfast. Any melty, stretchy, mild cheese is good (even Swiss can taste amazing, believe it or not) but for contrast it’s essential to make a really flavorful curtido. I make a jacked-up, multi-culti version that mixes sauerkraut, shredded green cabbage, cilantro, vinegar, thyme, olive oil, and a small dollop of sambal sauce. Yeah it’s good.We eat these with red beans and rice or with salsa. The corn flavor of the masa is wonderful.You can freeze th
Read
These end up kinda hard, compared to what I have at pupuserias. After the first time I made them I add a fair amount oil to the dough (comparable to a tortilla dough), which brings them closer to what I've had elsewhere. But am I doing something wrong? I see other pupusa recipes without oil in the dough.
Abe
The name of the cheese is "quesillo". If you can't find "quesillo" try a combination of a salty cheese and mozzarella. The Curtido and the salsa (I make mine a bit hot) give the pupusas lots of flavour. Some people also top these with "crema", a more runny sour cream. I stuff mine with refried beans and cheese, very tasty.
Alexandra
these are super easy and quick to come together - agree with other comments about giving them a little extra press at the end or if you have a tortilla press to use lightly to get them thinner. will serve with beans and pulled pork/chicken - i'd like to make them a bit spicier will likely add some pepper jack to my mozz shred.
Lyn
Really good & easy. Only comment is if using regular mozzarella cheese, we thought it needed salt, increasing what's in the masa/salt mix.
Wendell
We made these tonight. Super delicious! Filled them with smoked mozzarella, and arugula. Skipped the curtido, since it took so long to make, will try again next time.
Juan
I'm from El Salvador and when my mom and I moved to Washington, DC, she would use shredded mozzarella when she couldn't find quesillo (the cheese used in El Salvador). Now that I'm in Mexico City, I use Queso Oaxaca. I shared this with my mom and she gave me the stamp of approval!
Beth cherne
What the heck is "industrial mozzerella"? I would appreciate explanations of unusual ingredients.
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