Beans

Put soaked beans in a pot with water (enough water to cover beans by 1"). 

Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Then bring down to low heat. Add ½ onion, garlic, and salt (taste the soup for salt amount).

Cover pot and cook on low for about 30-40 minutes, or until beans are tender. 

In a pan with some oil, sautée the ¼ onion and ½ green bell pepper until lightly charred. 

In a blender, add beans and cooked onions and garlic with very little soup (only enough to make it easy to blend) and add the sauteéd onion and bell pepper. Blend until smooth.

Add blended beans to a pan with 1 Tbsp of oil on low-medium heat. Stir occasionally until beans become firm and lose the liquid. They should be moldable and have a similar consistency to the masa. 

Curtido

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and massage down until cabbage softens. Let sit for as long as possible. The longer it marinates the better. (I like to do this the night before, if possible). 

Cheese Filling Mix

Mix all the cheese together and crumble well with your hands to form a cheese masa. The cheese should be soft, so the masa dough doesn’t break when forming the pupusas. 

Salsa

With a couple Tbsp of water, steam tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chiles in a pot until the skin of the tomatoes peel off easily. Then peel tomato skins to make a smoother sauce (it’s okay if some of the skin remains on the tomatoes). 

Place tomato mixture in a blender but don't add the liquid (extra liquid will make it runny). Blend with salt. 

Once blended add the oregano, cumin, and olive oil. If you want, you can add a bit of sugar. Adjust seasoning to taste. 

Masa

Use enough water until masa is soft to handle (follow instructions on bag).

To Assemble: 

 Heat comal to medium-high heat or griddle to 400°F/200°C.

 Form masa into balls the size of a tennis ball (Tip: adding a bit of water and oil to your hands will keep the masa from sticking to your hands)

Flatten each masa ball into a disk with a bit of a dip and stuff with 1 Tbsp of beans and approximately 2 Tbsp cheese mixture. 

 Then with your hands, close back up into a ball and then move around a bit, so the inside mixture is even. 

 Then with your hands flatten back into a disk. (Tip: If you’re new to making pupusas,  you can also put the ball between two sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and use the bottom of a medium plate to form the disk). 

 Then add to the heated comal or griddle and turn every 1 minute, until edges are cooked. Serve with curtido and salsa and enjoy!