Pupusas Revueltas con Curtido

Ingredients

• 400g masa harina
• 600ml warm water, plus extra as needed
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 250g pork shoulder, cut into 3cm cubes
• 1 small tomato, quartered
• 1/4 white onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 250g refried red or black beans, thick and cool
• 250g quesillo or low-moisture mozzarella, grated
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, plus more for your hands
• 1/2 small white cabbage, shredded very fine
• 1 large carrot, coarsely grated
• 1/2 red onion, sliced paper thin
• 180ml white vinegar
• 120ml hot water
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt, for the curtido
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes

Before you cook

• Shred the cabbage, grate the carrot and slice the red onion as thinly as possible.
• Cube the pork shoulder.
• Grate the cheese and keep it cold.
• Set out a small bowl of oiled water for wetting your hands during shaping.

Steps

1. Pack the shredded cabbage, carrot and red onion into a large heatproof bowl.
2. Pour over the hot water and let the vegetables stand for one minute to take the raw edge off.
3. Add the vinegar, oregano, one teaspoon of salt, the sugar and the chilli flakes, and toss thoroughly.
4. Press the curtido down so the liquid covers it, cover the bowl, and leave it at room temperature while you make everything else.
5. Put the cubed pork in a small saucepan with the tomato, quarter onion, garlic cloves and green pepper, and cover with water.
6. Simmer for forty minutes, until the pork is completely tender.
7. Drain the pork and vegetables, keeping a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid.
8. Blitz the pork with the cooked vegetables in a food processor to a coarse, spreadable paste, adding a splash of the cooking liquid if it seizes.
9. Fry the pork paste in a dry pan over medium heat for five minutes, until the edges crisp and darken, then set it aside to cool.
10. Combine the cooled pork with the refried beans and the grated cheese in a bowl, and mix until evenly streaked.
11. Tip the masa harina and one teaspoon of salt into a large bowl and pour in the warm water.
12. Knead the masa in the bowl for four minutes, until it feels like soft modelling clay and no longer cracks at the edges when you press it.
13. Add a tablespoon more water at a time if the dough cracks, because dry masa will split as you shape it.
14. Rest the masa under a damp cloth for ten minutes.
15. Divide the masa into twelve balls and keep them covered.
16. Oil your palms, flatten one ball into a disc about ten centimetres wide, and press a hollow into the centre with your thumb.
17. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of filling into the hollow.
18. Draw the edges of the masa up and over the filling and pinch them closed, then roll the parcel back into a ball.
19. Pat the ball flat between your oiled palms into a disc about one centimetre thick, working from the centre outwards.
20. Repeat with the remaining balls, keeping the finished pupusas on an oiled tray.
21. Heat a dry comal or heavy frying pan over medium heat and brush it with a film of oil.
22. Cook two or three pupusas at a time for four minutes, until brown blisters cover the underside.
23. Flip them and cook for another four minutes, pressing lightly with a spatula so the centre cooks through.
24. Move the cooked pupusas to a plate and repeat with the rest.
25. Serve hot, with a heap of drained curtido piled on top or alongside.