Photo courtesy of National Geographic. “Mama’s zucchini pupusas ” recipe excerpt from the book The Blue Zones American Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100, published by National Geographic. Text © 2022 by Dan Buettner. Mama’s zucchini pupusas MAKES 12 PUPUSAS Salvadoran chef Claudia Lopez and her mom, Norma, […]
Click here to view original web page at www.wpr.org
"Mama’s zucchini pupusas " recipe excerpt from the book The Blue Zones American Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100, published by National Geographic. Text © 2022 by Dan Buettner.
Mama’s zucchini pupusas
MAKES 12 PUPUSAS
Salvadoran chef Claudia Lopez and her mom, Norma, watched the Forks Over Knives documentary about plant-based eating and had an epiphany. Their restaurant, Maria’s International Tamales in downtown Los Angeles, is now an oasis of healthy food in a jungle of fast food. Claudia’s excellence and skill mean that her pupusas and tamales are in high demand and well loved by veggie and meat lovers alike.
Her pupusas are filled with zucchini and easy to make at home. Once you get the hang of whipping up the dough, you can experiment with alternative fillings like beans, jackfruit, and other vegetables. Masa harina, used in the dough, is a finely ground cornmeal that is made from nixtamalized, dried corn.
FOR THE DOUGH:
- 3 cups masa harina
- 1 cup warm water, plus additional as needed
- Pinch of salt
FOR THE FILLING:
- 2 zucchini, grated on the large holes of a box grater, sprinkled with a pinch of salt, and squeezed to remove excess water
FOR SERVING:
- Hot sauce
- Salsa
- Curtido (pickled cabbage)
- To make the dough, in a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix to combine. You may need to add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to get the dough to come together. Let stand for about 10 minutes before forming the pupusas.
- Wet your hands with a bit of water and/or oil to keep the dough from sticking.
- Make a ball of dough about the size of an ice-cream scoop and flatten it between the palms of your hands into a round that’s about 1⁄4 inch thick. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the zucchini filling to the center of the dough. Wrap the dough around the filling and then flatten it again between the palms of your hands, until it is about 1⁄4 inch thick and 4 inches across. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- To cook, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook each pupusa until lightly browned, about 5 minutes per side.
- Serve with the hot sauce, salsa, and curtido.
