Sunday, May 31, 2009

Black Bean Pupusas & a Vegan Brunch Omelette

Pupusas are one of a variety of Latin American dishes that feature corn flour - masa harina - prepared with all manner of shapes and fillings and toppings. Of them all, I think the pupusa at least has the best name. I've only eaten pupusas in their native setting once, and it was love at first bite - is that too cutesy? Sorry, really....can't believe I even wrote that. Anyway, it's a corn flour dough, filled with savory mashed black beans (among other filling options), and cooked on a griddle until golden brown and crispy on the outside. I was going to go all out and take pictures of the assembly process, but will instead direct you to SusanV's Fat Free Vegan site, where she does the work for me - thanks! - and saves me from trying to take pictures with hands covered in masa dough. If you want to try these, the photos are really useful.

If you're curious, the day-glo pink onions on top are pickled red onions from a Rick Bayless recipe. Very easy, and a great condiment for all sorts of things - it would be fantastic as a Mexican-style veggie burger topping. Thinly sliced red onions are quickly blanched in boiling water, than soak for a quick pickle in apple cider vinegar spiked with black pepper and cumin seeds. Through some kind of food magic, this makes the onions turn bright pink, and oddly sweet. Check it out.

It's asparagus season, so I dug into these asparagus omelettes from Vegan Brunch for - I almost said lunch - brunch today. These are great, and it's amazing how well they mimic the taste and texture of an egg omelette...not exactly the same of course, but as tasty as any omelette I ever ate. Part of the goodness is the spoonful of topping, which is salsa romesco, from Donna Klein's Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen. Almonds, tomato, garlic, olive oil, parsley, dried chilis, and red wine vinegar combine for a brilliant Catalan sauce that would be great in all kinds of places.

8 comments:

kmouse said...

Hey I really dig your blog! You've got skills!

Tara said...

Great looking food! Those pupusas seem mighty tasty, especially with the neat onions.

Anonymous said...

"...it was love at first bite - is that too cutesy?"

LOL! Bring on the cutesy! You're keepin' it real buddy!

Gosh Mikey - ya gotta stop with all these interesting eats! You always post up foods I've never heard b4 and here I am thinking I know a lot! I bow down to you Chef! The pupusas sounds right up my alley and duuuuude like that person that said b4 me - "You've got skills!"

And the onion thing, I've seen it eaten with a Southeast Asian style flat bread. It has a funky color but it really does perk up a dish.

Thanks for the compliment:D
Ya gotta try out CM's fritatta.

Per usual - another great post from you!

Gina said...

Nice!! Gotta love asparagus season. I've heard this omelette is good...maybe I'll have to buy Vegan Brunch after all :)

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

i've never heard of Pupusas before but they look great.

mmmmm asparagus!!

Lisa said...

your omelette turned out great! Great color and it looks like it stayed together perfectly.

Buy Generic Viagra said...

"Black Bean Pupusas" are delicious, it was my favorite food when I lived in San Salvador, they prepared the most delicious "pupusas" I've eaten in my life, I hope that these ones being so delicious too.

Michelle said...

Thanks so much for your post, pretty helpful information.