honduran

From the streets of El Salvador, these are masa 'cakes' with a filling that is fried. The usual fillings are meat or cheese but there is no reason why beans etc could not be used.

Pupusas

masa harina

water

mild cheese (or the fillng of your choice)

fresh cilantro, chopped

Mix the masa harina, water into a dough which is soft but not sticky. Be prepared to add more flour if necessary. If it is too dry, add more water.

To make a 3 inch round pupusa, take about half a cup of dough and roll it into a ball. flatten with your hand.

Put the filling in the centre [in this case, cheese, cilantro, salt and pepper].

Work the edges up over the filling and again form a ball, completely enclosing the filling.

Flatten each ball to about 1/4 inch or less and cook the pupusas on a hot, lightly oiled griddle for about 3 minutes per side, or until both sides are lightly browned.

This is such a fun recipe.. 
I've made it quite a few times and always forget to review it.
My only change has been, a Tablespoon of lard added to the dough. 
That really helps this from drying out. 
I think our favorite fillings have been refried beans and cheese. (It's easier just to serve the refried beans on the side.)
But we like just plain cheese with green onion too. 
It's really worth making curtido to serve with these! I really like, Recipe #207798
Just a small note - 
I find it helpful keeping a small bowl of oil & 
adding a bit at a time, to my hand when I shape these.
They might turn out funny looking if you never made Pupusas before.
No big deal. It also might be nice to have someone help you make these.
I always make a double batch now. I was sorry when I only made one batch. 
They are delicious! Along with the curtido, we like to serve this with hard tacos.
Can't get better then that, on a lazy Sunday. Making them again today. 
This time with diced jalapeno and jack cheese. (Hopefully I remember to snap a pic!)
Thanks for sharing the recipe! :)

Baleadas are a Honduran street food made up of a thick, homemade flour tortilla filled with re-fried beans and cheese.

Honduran Baleadas with Homemade Flour Tortillas

c flour

tsp baking powder

salt

- 1 ¼ c milk

¼ c butter, lard or oil, softened

sour cream

¼ c + 2 Tbsp milk

c re-fried black beans, warmed

Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking...

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

Mix in ½ cup of milk or water.

Work in the liquid fat with your fingers...

Work in the liquid fat with your fingers until the dough comes together. Add more milk or water, a little at a time, as needed.

Turn the dough out onto your counter and...

Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead for 5-10 minutes, until you have a soft and smooth, but not sticky dough.

Cover the dough with a dish towel and...

Cover the dough with a dish towel and let rest for at least 30 minutes.

When you are ready to cook your tortillas,...

When you are ready to cook your tortillas, heat an ungreased griddle or skillet over medium heat.

Cut the dough into 8 equal portions and...

Cut the dough into 8 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Roll each ball into an 8 ½ inch round, roughly ¼ inch thick. If your dough springs back on you, let it rest a little longer before continuing rolling.

Place rolled dough onto the preheated, dry skillet...

Place rolled dough onto the preheated, dry skillet and cook for 1 minute on each side, until lightly golden in spots and slightly puffy.

Once cooked, you can jump straight to making...

Once cooked, you can jump straight to making your baleada (filling and folding), or you can finish making all your tortillas before filling them.)

Continue with remaining dough, reducing the heat of...

Continue with remaining dough, reducing the heat of your skillet as necessary. Keep the finished tortillas warm and soft by wrapping in a clean tea towel.

Once all your tortillas are finished, make your...

Once all your tortillas are finished, make your baleadas!

Mix the milk with the sour cream, adding...

Mix the milk with the sour cream, adding a little at a time, until the cream is pour-able. Set aside.

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat.

Place tortilla in the skillet and heat both...

Place tortilla in the skillet and heat both sides to soften.

Transfer the tortilla to a plate and spread...

Transfer the tortilla to a plate and spread the beans on one half (roughly ¼ c). Sprinkle with your grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 Tb) and drizzle with cream (roughly 1-2 tsp).

Fold the baleada in half.

Continue with remaining ingredients and serve warm!

Pan de coco is a dairy free coconut bread from Honduras.Often shaped as rolls, they are at home alongside a meal or alone as a snack. 

Pan de Coco (Honduran Coconut Bread)

sugar

active dry yeast

all-purpose flour

coconut milk

coconut oil

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm...

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir and set aside for 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, place the flour,...

In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, salt, coconut milk, coconut oil, and yeast mixture.

Attach the bowl and the dough hook to...

Attach the bowl and the dough hook to your stand mixer. Mix at the lowest speed for 2 minutes, or until the dough clings to the hook and clears the sides of the bowl. You might need to help it along once or twice by pushing the flour down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. (If mixing by hand, use the instructions in the article above.)

Knead at this same speed for another 5...

Knead at this same speed for another 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will be sticky to touch.

Lightly grease a large bowl, place the dough...

Lightly grease a large bowl, place the dough in it and turn the dough over once to grease the top. Cover with a towel and keep warm until the dough doubles, about 1 to 2 hours.

Place the dough on a floured surface and...

Place the dough on a floured surface and divide into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion between the palm of your hands and shape into rolls.

Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two...

Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or two 9-inch square or round baking pans. Arrange rolls in prepared baking pan, cover with a towel and let them rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake for 20-25 minutes...

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Let them cool in the pan for 5...

Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing.

While masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, is mostly associated with Mexican cooking, there are other countries in Central America that utilize it for regional specialties. Pupusas, a stuffed and griddled corn cake hailing from El Salvador and Honduras, is one of these dishes. This version is stuffed with a quick bean and cheese mixture, but pupusas are a great home for leftovers; winter squash, braised meat and pressed, wilted greens all make exceptional fillings. As long as it’s fully cooked, not too wet and small enough to be flattened into the cake, anything can go inside. To dial up the authenticity and add some brightness, serve the pupusas with curtido, a pickled cabbage slaw traditionally served alongside.

neutral oil

jalapeño,

Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

garlic cloves,

cumin

black beans,

mozzarella

Curtido

kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

oil,

NYT Cooking

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/09/29/multimedia/HE-pupusa-zphv/HE-pupusa-zphv-videoSixteenByNineJumbo1600.jpg

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/09/29/multimedia/HE-pupusa-zphv/HE-pupusa-zphv-threeByTwoLargeAt2X.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/09/29/multimedia/HE-pupusa-zphv/HE-pupusa-zphv-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/09/29/multimedia/HE-pupusa-zphv/HE-pupusa-zphv-facebookJumbo.jpg

Make the filling: In a medium skillet over medium heat, add the oil, jalapeño and a pinch of salt. Cook until jalapeño has slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in the beans and a pinch of salt. Mash with a fork or potato masher until most of the beans are mashed but mixture is still chunky. Taste and season with salt, if necessary. Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until cool, 10 to 15 minutes. Once cool, remove from the fridge and stir in mozzarella until combined. Divide the mixture into 4 portions. 

Make the dough: In a medium bowl, combine the masa harina, salt and ¾ cup warm water. Mix with straight, stiff fingers to form a dough. Using both hands, roll into a ball and return to the bowl. The dough should not be overly sticky, but also shouldn’t be so dry it crumbles. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes at room temperature.

Divide the masa into 4 portions and roll into balls. While working with one ball, keep the others covered so they don’t dry out. Using your thumb, create a divot in the middle of the ball. Continue pressing all around the divot to create a bowl shape large enough to hold 1 portion of the bean filling.

Add the bean filling to the masa and pinch around the edges until it’s closed. Roll again to make a uniform ball and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Using the palm and fingers of one hand, press the ball into a ½-inch-thick cake that is about 4½ inches in diameter. (Masa is very malleable, so pinch to close any cracks. It’s OK if some filling pokes through the surface of the corn cake.) Repeat with remaining portions of dough. If at any point the masa is cracking too much, moisten your hands with warm water and knead masa to reintroduce some moisture into the dough. 

In a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the oil is hot, gently add the pupusa by putting it on your fingertips and placing it in the pan away from you like you are waving away a fly. Add a second pupusa to the pan and fry both until the sides touching the pan are crispy with splotches of darker spots, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the pupusas and cook until the second sides are also crispy, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and season with salt. If there is any residue in the pan, wipe it out with a paper towel and start with fresh oil to cook the remaining  pupusas. Serve warm with curtido or salsa alongside, if desired.

How delish!!! I veered off with the beans and followed everything else exactly - so so so yummy I cannot overstate it. The video was also so helpful - Ham explains things in the best way.

As a Honduran-American I just want to say thank you! I love that you put your own twist! I’m pretty excited to try some of these methods and see how it enhances the flavors. 🇭🇳

Invite friends of all ages. Show them the video. Have them make their own pupusas!  Instant party!

Fantastic. I could not have done this without Ham El-Waylly. His video walked me through all the steps and was an inspiration.  Talk about the joy of cooking.  Thank you.

I adore recipes like this. They humble me. I say "I'll watch the video and just do what he does" and then I will never again have to pay someone who has been making this dish his or her entire life to demonstrate the technique. Well, it turns out it's really hard. Stick with the expert, and tip him or her generously.

I love these pupusas. I added some charred poblano pepper from last summer that I had in the freezer because I was a little short on beans. Thanks to the wonderful demo of how to fill them and the explanation of the desired low masa to filling ratio, I finally achieved non-doughy pupusas. Crisping them in oil is genius and really adds a layer of flavor without making them greasy. And the test for doneness by looking for slight oozing was very helpful. Mine were indeed molten inside. I served them with homemade 
curtido and a traditional red salsa. If I score some squash blossoms, I’ll definitely try out that variation. The beauty of the pupusa, IMO, is that there are so many different filling variations. I know they were good because I’d planned four meals for two and made 8 pupusas. However, my husband went back for another half, and I may have pecked at the remaining half a little.

Making this tonight (I made carnitas yesterday for filling) and just want to say that your explanations in the video were incredible. And your enthusiasm was contagious, making my pretty cruddy day suddenly feel brighter. Watch the video, folks, and learn from DJ Pupusito!

This was a difficult recipe for me. There was too little dough for the filling. I had trouble getting the dough thin enough yet supportive for the filling. I used about 1/4 of the bean filling suggested, it spilled out. I cooked it longer than was indicated and the dough was raw, although crispy on the outside. Ultimately, I made tortillas, warmed the bean mixture and served with curtido. It was okay. Maybe I need to practice with this dough. I have a lot of curtido leftover.

I had to add more water to get it to a dough like texture. In hindsight, I wish I had added more to get it even more hydrated. 

Don’t expect a traditional pupusa recipe here. However, it was tasty for a first time experience trying to make pupusas. Helped demystify them for me, and make them more approachable.

Doubled the recipe and seemed to have the right masa to bean ratio…each ball of masa was about 1.5-2 inches, and I put about a quarter cup of bean filling in. We’ll see how they taste and how the ratio works in bites. Really fun to make and not too intimidating.

I LOVE PUPUSAS but I've never thought of them as crispy. I love them doughy and melty with spots of caramelized cheese where it happened to ooze out. This is an interesting take - but I might up the masa-to-filling ratio a bit when I try it. And curtido is A MUST. Heaps of it, in my book. And the salsa roja? Who has a recipe for the classic salsa roja? I need that!

It definitely helps to compact the filling into a ball before sticking it in the masa, then you won't have too little masa to cover it.

These aren't pupusas salvadoreñas and I would love to see those properly shared. Including the option for rice flour. But, I think anything stuffed in corn and fried could be good. Just don't call it a pupusa.

I wonder what I'm doing wrong—I make these often, but the final thing had always been unpleasantly dry till I added oil to the dough. But I know from many recipes that that's not traditional.

Watching the YouTube video, I would call these pupusas-like. These are way too thick, and they should not be fried. There are other things like wrong beans, jalapeno, green salsa. I'm sure this recipe makes something tasty. 😆 Love Sohla and Ham for sure, but should have had Karla Tatiana Vasquez (SalviSoul) as guest to make real pupusas. I would call this an interpretation of pupusas by someone who is not Salvadoreno. Still good that NYT has taken an interest in the Salvadoran national dish.

I was taught not to use oil, just a very hot comal (skillet), to cook a pupusa. 
No spices in the beans, though **red bean refried beans** are a must. No black bean and no pinto bean. 
My pupusas were judged on how well I got the filling into every bite.
Pupusas with crispy cheese bites are the faves here.
Catch a video to see the technique of making a bowl in your palm, adding the filling, then patting it back-and-forth to flatten it.

Based off previous times I’ve made pupusas, the jalapeno and seasonings aren’t really needed for it to be good. To save the trouble of mashing the beans its very convenient to buy red refried beans.

Few things. Frijoles rojos de seda are the proper beans to use. I'm glad pinto is not suggested here, though. Not available everywhere, so look for red beans instead, particularly in the international sections of stores, or a hispanic grocery store. Might be easier to just buy them already refried if you plan to make them the day of. 
Also cumin? Not needed.
Pupusas are difficult! And messy. Takes lots of practice to get desired masa to filling ratio.

My first attempt at this was a messy disaster. I had way too much filling for the dough, but everything tasted great.  I’m just curious if the ratios of dough to filling are working for others or if Im just a disaster at the filling process.

OMG, these are magic! Whatever dreary stir fry thing you made that's dry and a bit boring...just wrap it all up in the magic masa, fry well, and everything will taste 100% better!

After watching the YouTube video— I am not convinced the aim was to make pupusas. What was produced was a mix between Venezuelan Arepas and Mexican Gorditas.

Appreciate the exposure of what the dish is. For folks out there looking for pupusas, support local Salvadorean businesses and buy from them, OR follow this tutorial recipe for the right way to make them: <a href="https://youtu.be/eKL4VcCCOcA?si=U7q0T0cba7ONSDer" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/eKL4VcCCOcA?si=U7q0T0cba7ONSDer</a>

My filling to masa ratio made for a huge mess. After scaling back the filling it was much easier. I also watched videos on YouTube by Bryan Ford and Rick Martinez. Between the three recipes, I think I got the hang of it. These are so tasty but take practice to figure out how to properly hydrate the dough, fill, and flatten into cakes.

These were great!  But don't judge my choice of filling: shredded mozzarella and drained, diced kimchi...

I love ordering pupusas from any number of pupuserias along Bergenline Avenue in Hudson County, NJ. My own attempts to make have been hilarious, messy disasters.

I recognize that this recipe was developed by a professional and tested in a test kitchen, therefore I believe that all the blame for last night's meal was me.  Maybe I used the wrong masa harina. Maybe I did not get the masa to the right consistency.  Maybe I did something else wrong.  Whatever I did wrong, this recipe had no forgiveness for my mistake and the result was a sub-par dinner.  It was a lumpy mess of masa and beans.  Try this a few times before making for a crowd.

Made this recipe twice— once with masa harina, and once with some bob’s red mill corn flour I had in the pantry. Obviously the masa harina is the way to go for traditional papusas, but this recipe also worked just fine with the corn flour— a little grittier and more “buttery”, as yellow corn tends to be, but still delicious. Made the curtido a couple days before to let it pickle in the fridge, and topped the whole thing with some pickled jalapeños. Delish!

Great with leftover taco seasoned hamburger and cheese. Could use all kinds of fillings, yum!

Parents: These are great if you have little kids. My littles really enjoy making the papusas (and eating them). We’ve even let the kids have a papusa-making party with friends. Big hit.

https://vp.nyt.com/video/2025/01/17/132657_1_Pupusas-YT-Video_wg_480p.mp4

The New York Times Cooking

“Every time I say ‘DJ Pupusito,’ can we get an air horn in the background? [AIR HORN IMPERSONATION]: And, like, pop some shades on me and just, like, a GIF of a turntable just spinning, but instead of a turntable, they’re pupusas.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “Hi, I’m Ham El-Waylly, and today, we’re making pupusas. Pupusas come from El Salvador and Honduras. I worked with a cook from El Salvador and another cook from Honduras, and they would fight constantly about whose pupusas were superior. Its masa harina, or nixtamalized corn ground into a flour and dried, that is made into a dough with water. And then you fill it with all kinds of different fillings. My personal favorite is just a simple refried bean and cheese mixture. You griddle that until they’re cooked on both sides and the center is molten, and then you eat that with salsa. And if you want to keep it tradish, they have it with this kind of vinegary coleslaw mixture known as curtido. And also, to have a little bit of fun, I’m going to do another variation, which is a spin on one of my favorite quesadillas, which is a squash blossom and Oaxacan cheese quesadilla. So I’m going to take that and shove that inside of a pupusa, which I’m sure will be delicious. Let’s do this. We’re about to make our bean filling for the pupusa. First things first, we’re going to deseed and finely dice our jalapeno. So you want to get in with the tip of your knife around the top, where the stem would be, and you’re cutting out all of that white pith and those seeds. And if you get your knife in at the right angle, it all comes out in one easy bit. And any leftover seeds that you may have, you can just tap them out. Then we’re going to cut thin slices. Move down as you slice. To mince the garlic, thin slices all the way around. Then you turn it, and then do the same thing. And what you end up is with a grid sort of deal so that when you cut across, you already have finely minced garlic without having to cut over it over and over and over again, because then your garlic changes in flavor. So I’m looking for minced garlic, not mashed garlic. But again, these are your refried beans. You can blend them for all I care. Just give that a once over. In that goes. And then we’re going to start preheating our pan. You want to make sure that your pan, especially stainless steel, carbon steel, and cast irons are sufficiently heated through to get some kind of nonstick effect because if you go into a cold pan right now with, really, anything, it’s probably going to stick. All right? Pan’s hot. Oil goes in. So you see how it immediately loosens and kind of just flies all over the place, and you get a little web in the middle, and it’s really loose. That’s how you know your pan is hot. You want that to happen as soon as you add your oil to the pan. And in we go with our jalapenos.” [SIZZLING] “We’re going to season that with a bit of salt. So we just want to cook this until the jalapeno is a little softened. It’ll take a couple of minutes. So I want to push down on it. If it still feels crunchy, it needs a little bit more time, O.K.? Our jalapenos have softened. And we’re going to go in with our cumin and our garlic. We just want to cook it enough so that we can smell it, until you get that wave of toasted cumin and toasted garlic. Ooh, I really smell that garlic and cumin. So we’re going to go in with our beans. Hit it with a nice pinch of salt. And now, we’re going to go in with that potato masher, and then we’re going to mash up our beans. If you don’t have a potato masher, you can get in there with a fork. You just want to break up the beans. You don’t want to go too crazy with the salt right now because you’re still adding cheese to it. I’m going to taste it again once I mix the filling with the cheese, and then reseason it if needed. So my refried beans go into this bowl to cool because hot filling in a pupusa is not a good idea. Really, a hot filling in anything— you can’t hot fill an empanada. You can’t hot fill a dumpling. You can’t hot fill pasta. So if this is your filling, and it’s going into something else, you probably want it to chill. So I’m going to pop this in the fridge until it is fully cool, not lukewarm. It needs to be fully cooled. Pupusa filling and making can get a little bit messy, so I popped on an apron. I’m going to add my mozzarella to my refried beans, going to stir that in. You might need to use your hands to really get it incorporated. And now, I’m going to divide this into four portions. Just using my fingers, just cutting them, and then roll them into a ball. And then you can pop them right in the same bowl because then we’re going. To put it back in the fridge to chill some more while we make our masa. Man, this smells so good. I can’t wait until this gets all melty and gooey. If any balls look a little bigger than the other, just pinch some from one. Add it to the other. Our balls are balls, and they’re equal. Off to the fridge. While the filling chills in the fridge, let’s make our masa for the pupusas. In here, I have high quality masa harina. When you’re starting to make this dough, I wouldn’t just add the entire amount of water from the get-go. I would just add half of the amount of water, and then increase it until you’re at the perfect consistency. Adding a nice hefty, maybe a couple pinches of salt, and then I’m using stiff fingers to whisk everything together. So I’m looking to get everything moistened. And you see how there’s a lot of dry spots of masa? That means that I need more water. I’m going to add the rest of my water -- stiff fingers. Some parts are clearly moistened really well, but there’s still a lot that’s dry, so I’m going to give it a little knead to see how much better I can distribute the water throughout. But it still looks a little crumbly, so that means that I’m going to need more water. It’s really helpful to use your hand when mixing doughs like this because it’s really important that you feel the dough. That’s how you know that it’s hydrated enough or that you’ve added enough water. This is looking a lot better. I’m kneading it around. I want to make sure that there are no pockets of dry masa stuck to the bowl. So now, let’s do a test. You want to be able to take a lump of dough. It’s moist. It’s not sticking to my hand. It’s leaving a very fine residue. And when I roll it into a ball and squish it in between my hands, there’s minimal to almost no cracking along the edges. So that tells me that when I roll it out and try and fill it and press it together, it’s less likely to crack because it’s moist enough to stay together. At this point, we’re going to cover it and let the masa hydrate a little bit more. We’re going to let it rest for 10 minutes before portioning it and filling it up, and then cooking them off. Make sure to keep your water close, though, because after resting, as the masa soaks up more of that liquid, you might need another splash just to keep it loosey-goosey and easy to form. While the masa rests, we’re going to make another filling. Here, I have squash blossoms. So to clean these, you’re going to grab the bottom, and then you’re just going to gently pull it off while gripping right underneath the stem. And then, you’ll see this come out. This is what you’re removing from your zucchini blossom. Texturally, it’s not great. It’s a little gritty, and it kind of throws off what makes the zucchini blossom so spectacular is that it has this delicate silkiness as soon as warmth hits it. And so you don’t even need a knife for this filling. You’re just going to pull it apart into strips, and then pop it in a bowl. And then we’re going to repeat with all of these. The reason you’re pulling them apart is because when you pull queso Oaxaca apart, which is the cheese we’re using in this pupusa, you do it in the same way. It’s kind of like the best version of a cheese stick. And it has these strands that you just pull apart. Don’t be scared about what you put in your pupusa. You can really put anything in there. There are just a couple of rules. You want to make sure that your pupusa filling is cold when you fill it, and you want to make sure it’s not something too wet. If it’s too wet, it’s going to make the pupusa feel a little gummy because of that extra moisture from the inside. It’s not going to cook properly. Look at how pretty that looks. We’re going to mix this with our queso Oaxaca. Just fluff it up, so you get the cheese distributed throughout. That already looks really good. Let’s do this. So our masa is rested. We have our fillings made. Let’s pupusa it up. All right, look at that. Dough feels really nice, very light residue, no real stickiness. It feels really malleable, squishing it out. It’s feeling good. If at any point, it feels like your dough’s drying out or cracking too much, and you don’t feel like it needs enough water to add to the dough, all you need to do is moisten your hands, and that’s enough to reintroduce a little moisture into your dough. I’m going to eyeball four portions. We’re going to make four pupusas. We’re going to make two refried beans and two squash blossoms. So I just cut this into four, and then I’ve got my first ball. So I roll it into a ball, and then I make a little divot in the center with my finger. And then with my thumb on the inside and my finger on the outside, I slowly start making that cavity larger, just like that pottery class in Fort Greene that you started taking at the beginning of the new year, that you probably will stop taking by the end of February. So I got a nice-looking pocket here, and then in we go with our filling. From here, you’re going to start knocking it against your hand. And that will both help the filling settle into the bottom while raising the edges. And then when you have enough at the top to pinch it shut, and then you re-roll it into the ball until it seems fully sealed. And then from here, we’re just going to gently start pressing it into a disc. You’re looking for around a half-inch thick. That looks about right. And then just using the edge of your fingers, just pat the edge together to keep it all in check. Now, this is important to note. There are a lot of things that you want perfect, perfectly sealed. Like a soup dumpling, you want perfectly sealed because if you lose that liquid on the inside, you’re losing all of the fun. This is not one of those things. If you see a little bit of filling peeking out through some cracks, that is totally O.K. because as it cooks, some of the cheese is going to seep out and crisp up against the pan. And that ends up becoming even crispier than the regular pupusa, so that is something that I always look for. So if I see a little bit seeping out, don’t bother trying to pinch it shut. Don’t bother trying to smooth it over with some more masa. It’s perfect just the way it is. Cracks are O.K. Let cracks live. There we go. So I’m popping this on a sheet tray lined with parchment and with a moist paper towel on top, just to keep that dough from drying out too much and cracking. So we got our other one, same deal. We’re making our little masa vase or vase. And then same deal, knock it in. Press it down. We’re slowly bringing the top, sealing it, rolling it up, and then same deal. Press, pupusa dos, and now I’m going to return the bean filling to the fridge for later pupusa-ing. So the other one was a filling that you could roll into the ball and just drop in. This is more of a dry filling, so you’re kind of stuffing it more, cramming it in there. But you still start the same way.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “So we’re just going to grab a handful, cram it in. And just when you think it can’t take anymore, just grab another little pinch, and just go for it. Again, roll into a ball. I’m seeing little hints of cracking with this dough, which means that it’s starting to dry out. So at this point, I’m just going to wet my hands a bit for this final part. This crack is not too big. I might have moistened my dough just a bit too much. You can tell because of all the residue that’s in my hands, but it’ll be O.K. So these little bits, some cheese will seep out, and it’s going to get really nice and crispy. It just means we got to be a little more delicate with it. You can pop that down right there. So I’ve got a 12-inch cast iron over medium heat. I preheated it so the pan is nice and hot. I’m going to add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan fully, and I’m going to heat that oil up until it kind of shimmers and really glides along the surface of the cast iron. That’s how you know your oil is sufficiently hot. Everyone’s going to be calling me Dr. Pupusito once we’re done over here. DJ Pupusito.” [AIR HORN] “The oil feels hot, but before I commit fully, I’m just going to give it a test. So I put the edge of my pupusa up against the oil, and it’s not— it’s not giving me that sizzle that I’m looking for. So I’m going to give the oil a little bit more time. There we go. You hear that kind of sizzle? You’re seeing more violent bubblage. Now I feel ready to commit. Pupusas down. ‘Pupusa’ is such a fun word to say. You’re looking for this gentle bubblage. Anything that’s too crazy, the outside is going to brown and cook too much before the inside gets warm enough. So you want to coast. You want it to take its time. You want it to get crisp. You want to get warm throughout. This isn’t a steak. You’re not looking for hard sears. It’s just, like, gentle. Ooh, these are -- these are some good-looking pupusas. DJ Pupusito strikes again. For something like this, I’m looking for visual cues. I want the bottom to be crisp, and when you look along the side, you see as it cooks, it looks less raw. The actual masa changes shade. So when the bottom is crisp and golden brown, and the cooked level looks like it’s halfway through, that’s when I like to flip to cook the other side. We’re getting ready to flip. I’m going to flip. Look at that. Nice and golden brown, crisp. DJ Pupusito. [AIR HORN IMPERSONATION]: Look at that. Ooh, that is crisp. That’s going to be good. The main indicator that they’re fully done is that you can see the filling starting to bubble out. That means that the inside is molten, just like in ‘Chef.’ That inside is molten. Anyone get that reference? I forgot the name of the chef. I was going to say his name. What was his name? Jon Favreau, Jon frickin’ Favreau. Ooh, nice and golden brown. I like to keep them on a rack instead of popping them on paper towels because that air circulation means that there’s no steamage, and no steamage means no sogginess. So that will make sure that the top and bottom stay crisp. Immediately season them with a little bit of salt, and then I’m going to grab my accoutrements for my pupusas.” [MUSIC PLAYING] “All right, pupusas— ready. Curtido— on the plate. Salsa verde— on the plate. I’m going to start with the classic refried bean and cheese. I’m really excited. Oh, look at that. Solid pull. I’m going to try some on its own. Mm. Pupusas are such a fun texture to eat because you get this really thin, crispy shell on the outside, and then you get to fluffy, tender masa. Then you get to really flavorful refried beans, and then you get the same thing on the other side. Mm. And that’s built really well. See how much filling there is in comparison to masa? That’s what you’re looking for. You know what I’m going to say. DJ Pupusito strikes again.” [QUIET AIR HORN] “Let me get into the experiment. Oh, yeah. Look at that. Queso Oaxaca is an elite stretchy cheese. Cheese is really subtle and neutral, so it doesn’t overpower or overshadow the squash blossoms. So squash blossoms have this really silky texture, but they have a hint of zucchini. So it’s like you’re getting zucchini and cheese in a really chill, really milky, really stretchy way. Can’t go wrong. I’m going to spice it up with a little curtido and some salsa verde. The curtido adds just enough heat and acidity to really lift the pupusa. You definitely need the curtido to help cut it. And if you have the two of these, you can just pupusa and curtido all day long. Pupusas, huh? What a gift to the world. Thank you, El Salvador, slash, Honduras. You can find this recipe and others on NYT Cooking. Spin the pupusa.” [LAUGHS] [AIR HORN]

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