I've discussed my newfound love of Salvadorean food lately and I'm still on that kick. My pocketbook, and desire to leave the house as little as possible until it is under 100 degrees, have forced me to try and replicate the divine meal I keep eating at Salvadorean restaurants.
We took a trip to a nearby market that carries many south of the border treats. These were the closest things we could find to the pupusa so it's what we went with. Wasn't exactly the same and I wouldn't eat them without the sauces and baked plantains (recipe off the internet), but they were a close second. We filled them with black beans and Queso Fresco cheese (from the same market) and cooked them on the griddle.
Luckily, the market also had this - which is a little different than regular sour cream. It, on the plate with a sort of puréed pinto bean mixture works wonders with the baked plantains, which you kind of dip into each sauce (this is how they served it at the restaurants). I warmed the cream a bit to make it a little runny and just tossed a can of pinto beans into the blender and heated them up - delish, probably doesn't sound like it would be (didn't to me) but it really it was...
I also made some polenta, which I KNOW is Italian but I like it with this type of food. I just put chopped green chilis in and call it a day. Now, this plate of food is all kind of the same color and I realize it doesn't look all that appetizing but I promise you - it is.
My point in all this, sometimes there isn't one but this time there is, is that many of our favorite dishes here at Pagoda are the ones we loved at restaurants and did our best to copy here at home. Give it a try.
Do you have a favorite at home dish that you copied from a restaurant?
