Pupusas are stuffed corn tortillas that are traditionally served with curtido. This delicious South American dish (popular in El Salvador and Honduras) is a simple to make meal that just might become a family favourite.
Curtido
Curtido is a fermented sauerkraut-esque condiment from El Salvador. It is traditionally served with pupusas; however, I’ve also seen it served on tacos at trendy Mexican restaurants.
In addition to serving curtido with South American cuisine, I like fermented curtido on pretty much anything barbecued or in cheese sandwiches.
PrintCurtido
Curtido is a fermented sauerkraut-esque condiment from El Salvador. It is traditionally served with papusas, but it is delicious on everything from tacos, to barbecued hotdogs.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 1/2 quarts 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Salvadorian
Ingredients
- 1 head of cabbage
- 1 medium onion
- 1 large carrot
- 1 tbsp oregano (Mexican if you have it)
- 1 hot pepper or 1 tsp hot pepper flakes (optional)
- 1–2 tsp pickling salt, to taste
Instructions
- Grate or finely chop the vegetables.
- Toss them in a bowl with oregano, pepper and salt
- Pack the mixture into jars for fermentation leaving at least 2″ of head room. Use a spoon to really press all the cabbage into the jars so that there are no air bubbles.
- Place the jar in a bowl or on a tray somewhere at room temperature and out of the sun.
- After 4 hours, press it down again. The cabbage should have released enough moisture to completely submerge the vegetables. If it hasn’t top it off with a bit of purified water. Make sure the cabbage is kept away from air (see notes for fermentation container options).
- The curtido will bubble for the first three days. It is usually eaten fresh, so it will be ready after 5 days.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- To make sure that your fermenting vegetables aren’t exposed to air, use either fido jars or mason jar
with an airlock
or pickle-nipple
lid. Alternatively a crock or a mason jar with a weight
to keep the vegetables below the brine will work too.
- If this is your first time fermenting, I recommend reading about the basic rules for fermentation.
with an 
or 
lid. Alternatively a crock or a 
to keep the vegetables below the brine will work too.Keywords: sauerkraut, Mexican, tacos, vegan, gluten free
Pupusas
Pupusas are a fat corn tortilla that has been stuffed with refried beans, cheese, cooked vegetables or cooked ground pork. Though it is usually served with curtido, I also like eating pupusas with a variety of salsas and sauces.
PrintPupusas
- Yield: 12 1x
- Cuisine: Salvadorian
Ingredients
- 3 cups masa flour
- 2 2/3 cup water
- 2 tsp salt
- Fillings
Instructions
- Mix masa flour with salt and water to form a stiff dough. If you like to pre-ferment your flour, replace 1/3 cup of water with a starter (see notes).
- Allow the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Divide dough into 12 balls. Fill the balls by turning them into a small bowl-like shape and putting in 1 tbsp of filling. Then seal the filling into the center of the ball and flatten into a disk.
- Fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes per side, until the masa is browning.
- Serve immediately with curtido.
Notes:
-To pre-ferment your masa flour replace 1/3 cup of water with a starter: kombucha, milk kefir, sauerkruat juice, yogurt, etc.
-Fillings include: refried beans, white cheese, cilantro and/or fried ground pork.
-Don’t worry too much if the stuffing leaks out. The pupusa will probably fry up just fine. My 9-year old regularly makes pupusas on his own, and he definitely isn’t a perfectionist when it comes to filling them.
William
February 20, 2019 at 7:01 pmThe curtido is an awesome recipe; goto for taco condiment to make Mexi night extra special. It has a great sourness that really complements refried beans and cheese. Thank you thank you!
★★★★★