Flamin' Hot Pupusas

One of the great things about my trip (years ago) to Honduras was all of the amazing food.  There were mountains of avocados, mangos, cheeses, beans, plantains, and countless other yummies.

Do you see the white rectangles on the lower right?  At most vegetarian friendly restaurants in the US, geometric white blocks equal tofu.  In Honduras, white blocks equal fried cheese.  I can still taste it!

However, one of the most memorable things I ate (several times) were pupusas.  Pupusas are stuffed tortillas.  Kind of like a quesadilla, but thinner, not as dressed up, and one single tortilla.  Sometimes I think of it as a Latin calzone.  The important thing to take away from this is that they are delicious.

Now, chances are unless you are in a Honduran or El Salvadoran restaurant, you will not find pupusas on the menu.  This is exactly why I have made multiple attempts to learn how to make them at home.  I would like to dedicate this recipe to my dear friend Douglas who was my wonderful guide around Honduras.  In honor of him, I would like to name the following dish "Siguatepeque Pankeke."

Fast Forward to This Evening... As I was checking out at my local hardware store I was confronted by a display of snacks.  I try to avoid ever looking at these, because if I ever lock eyes with a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, chances are that we are going home together.  This was one of those days.

Driving home, I decided I wanted to incorporate the Flamin' Hot Cheetos.  A quick spin in the food processor and this is what it looked like.

I mixed together:
     1/3C crushed Flamin' Hot Cheetos
     1 2/3C Whole Wheat Flour
     1 1/2t Baking Powder
     2t Oil
*I did not add any salt because of the Cheetos, could have used maybe a tiny pinch

To this I added:
     3/4C of Milk that has been warmed up

Knead the dough until it is nice and pliable and sticks together; you will end up with an unnaturally red lump of dough.

I covered this for awhile as I cleaned up my dishes thus far (I'm thinking Laura would mind coming home to stained red counters, bowls, and cutting boards) and decided what to put in the middle.

Dividing the dough into eight equal pieces, I rolled each one out.  *It is very important to get the dough as thin as possible.  There is only a thin layer of filling between the two tortillas.  If the dough ends up thick, the finished product is like taking a big bite of flour.*

Here is one tortilla rolled out.  I added refried beans and some jalapenos for the middle.  Normally, you would fill the entire center and put another tortilla on top.  Being lazy, and wanting smaller pupusas, I just filled half and folded the other side over.

After folding over or adding another tortilla on top, you want to flatten it down again.  You can use your hands or rolling pin gently.  From my dough I made four pupusas like the one above, and left four unfilled to make plain tortillas.

Use a dry pan on medium heat to cook.  The tortillas only take about 30-50 seconds for each side, the pupusas take just a little longer.

Here is the bounty, and below is something I like to call "dinner."

I topped off the final product with mild salsa, roasted yellow & red peppers, and cilantro.  The tortilla was not very spicy at all.  Next time I would add spices like cayenne, tabasco, or pepper flakes instead of the Cheetos.  The mild salsa and sweet peppers were a nice balance for the spicy jalapenos.  The beans were a smooth and rich filler tying it all together.

Honduras, I miss you.  Hope to see you soon (and also Douglas & Michele and your tiny one!).

Adios.