GASTRONORMOUS

This meal was inspired by an email I received from a friend who is currently in El Salvador working for the Peace Corps. She wrote in her email about making papusas from scratch with two Salvadorian grandmas, which sounded lovely, not to mention tasty. But It was hot out in Brooklyn (not that isn’t in El Salvador!), and it was a Monday evening, and well, I wasn’t really motivated enough to engage in the effort of finding the ingredients (such as corn masa, which is not available in nearby markets) and making it all from scratch.

So, I wasn’t exactly going to make papusas, but would have to figure out how to make something that gave the general impression of them. If you have ever been to the Red Hook Ball Fields, you know that the traditional accompaniment to papausas is pickled cabbage, so a mayonnaise-less coleslaw was a must. And, while not exactly traditional, I was thinking an avocado salsa might be nice on top of the “papausas.” So there was my dinner plan: A non-specific-but-definitely-south-of-the-border Monday.

Since I wasn’t going to make papusa dough from scratch, I thought a good stand-in would be thick, high quality tortillas, requirements fulfilled by the Hot Bread Kitchen homemade corn tortillas that I located at Provisions market in Front Greene, Brooklyn. I felt like an über-gringo paying an absurd $5.50 for 8 tortillas, but Hot Bread Kitchen happens to be a cool company that pays immigrant women a fair wage to bake breads traditional to their culture, while at the same time training them to work in the New York food industry, so at least I can say I overpaid for a good cause.

Note: This recipe calls for jalapeños, which, after I assembled the dinner, I learned has been found to be the most likely cause of the Salmonella outbreak. Tonight I am going to watch the News Hour with Jim Lehrer before cooking dinner. Assuming I am not in the hospital with Salmonella poisoning tonight, of course. Fingers crossed!

Faux-Papusas with Mexican Coleslaw and Avocado Salsa

For the Coleslaw:
1 small head cabbage
1 large carrot
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup flavorless oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 T. sugar, plus more, to taste
1/2 to 1 jalapeño, to taste, minced

Clean, core, and slice the cabbage as thinly as possible (I find it easiest to cut the head it in quarters first). Clean the carrot and make long ribbons by lying the carrot flat on a cutting board and running a peeler along its length.

Whisk together the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Add one tablesppon of sugar and taste. Add more sugar to taste, a few teaspoons at a time until it tastes good to you. Now add the half the jalapeño and taste again. Add more if necessary (I notice some jalapeños are practically as mild as bell peppers while others are super hot. The one I used last night, though it was big, was hot enough to make my fingers burn for hours after I handled it!!). Whatever you don’t use set aside for the avocado salsa.

Toss the shredded cabbage and carrot ribbons with the dressing, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Taste again right before serving and add more seasoning as necessary.

For the avocado salsa:
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 jalapeño, minced
1/4 c. cilantro, roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Gently toss all the ingredients, serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to use (but not more than an hour or so).

For the faux papusas:
4 thick, fresh, corn tortillas
about 4 T. refried beans
1/2 cup shredded or crumbled cheddar, jack, queso fresco, or cotija cheese

Simply spread a tortilla with a thin schmear (or whatever the Spanish for “schmear” is) of refried beans, top it with a modest amount of cheese (I used cheddar, but jack, queso blanco, or cotija, would also be great), then put another tortilla on top. Then put them on a very hot, dry griddle or non-stick frying pan (no oil!), and heat them until the insides are bubbly and the tortillas are beginning to brown.

Plate the “papusa” topped with some salsa, and coleslaw on the side.

Serves 2 generously.