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One of the typical fillings for pupusas is refried Salvadoran beans. The refried beans are mixed with cheese and chicharrón and it's knows as a "pupusa revuelta." To make the Salvadoran refried beans it requires a two step process. The first is to make bean soup and then you use the beans to refry them and use for the pupusas. Step 1: Sopa de frijoles (Bean stew). You can find the recipe here. Step 2: Once the bean stew is made, you can then refry the beans. Ingredients: 2 cups of stewed beans (Frijoles cocidos) 1/2 White or Red onion 1/2 Red or green bell pepper 3 cloves of garlic Vegetable oil 1/2 tbsp Chicken bouillon Salt to taste (optional) How to make refried beans ( Frijoles refritos)? Cut and slice the onion and peppers into 1-2 inch pieces Place a sauce pan on the stove at medium heat. Once ready add the sliced vegetables and garlic cloves to the sauce pan. You will stir fry them until the edges of the onion and garlic cloves are dark brown, and the peppers have a vibrant color. In a blender add your stir fried veggies, the beans and chicken bouillon. You can add some of the bean broth to help blend or to adjust the consistency to your desires. If you add too much don't worry because it will evaporate while you're frying them. Blend the beans until smooth. Taste and add salt to taste if needed. I normally don't add salt since the chicken bouillon already has salt. Add the blended beans back into the sauce pan with oil at medium heat You will fry them until they are boiling. You can tell they are boiling because there will be bubbles forming and poping out. Be careful as they may splatter far and burn you. I normally cover them and move them every 2-3 minutes. The longer you leave them on the heat the more solid the consistency will become since water/broth will evaporate. For pupusas you want the frijoles to be more solid so that they are easy to mix. You can remove them from the heat once they have reached your desired consistency. Let them cool before you mix it with other ingredients. Especially cheese. It's best to make the refried beans the day before or a few hours before making pupusas. Refried beans will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You won't regret making a cheese and bean pupusa and it's also a great option for vegetarians. Try and it and tag me on social media: @flourishwithg and check out the other recipes we share on a daily basis.

The best traditional pupusa pork filling, El Chicharrón. In El Salvador pupusas are commonly made with Chicharron, cheese, beans, loroco and zucchini flower. As their popularity grows the fillings have evolved and you can find vegetarian and vegan options. I have also seen fillings with seafood and chicken. One of my favorite pupusas are the ones made with chicharron, cheese and beans or just chicharron and cheese. These are often known as "revueltas," which means "mixed." This means that multiple ingredients are mixed together to make the pupusa. What is Chicharron? The Chircharron used to make pupusas is made with pork. You can select what cut you want to use but a good mix of lean and fat is preferred. I like using the pork shoulder or the leg for a good ratio of fat and lean mean. El chicharron is made by cutting the pork into small pieces, seasoning it, frying it, processing it and refrying it again. I consider the chicharron to be good when it's well seasoned. To achieve this after frying the chicharron you sauté it with tomato, pepper, garlic and onions. Many people add it raw when processing the chicharron but in my opinion it taste better when sautéd together. Another tip when making chicharron is to season the pork, many salvadoran restaurants just add salt and nothing else. I took some of the seasonings that they use for Carne Frita in Puerto Rico and it added so much flavor to it. All ingredients and detailed instructions are below! Ingredients: 2-3 lbs Pork shoulder or Pork leg 1 tbsp Salt 1 tbsp ground black pepper 1/2 tbsp oregano 1 tsp paprika 1 stp ground cumin 1/2 tbsp chicken buillon 1/2 tbsp adobo 1/2 tbsp garlic powder 1/2 white onion 4-5 garlic cloves 1/2 green bell pepper 4-5 roma tomatoes Instructions: Cut the pork into 1-1/2 inch pieces Clean the pork with water, white vinegar, lime and salt. Pat it dry and season with all the seasonings listed, cover and let it marinade for min 30 mins in the fridge. Get a big frying pan and turn to medium heat. Once the pan is hot add the pork. When you see it start to release water, cover it and let it cook on medium heat for about 45 mins - 1hr or until tender. During this time cut up your vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces. Remove the pot cover and now let it cook for another 30 mins. During this time the water will evaporate and only the fat should be left. The pork will start to fry in its own lard. Keep close attention to it and stir it every 20 mins. We don't want it to fry too much and get too crunchy. Once it gets to the perfect golden brown turn off the heat and place the chicharron to drain on a frying rack. You can store the lard or safety dispose of it. In the same pan add in your cut vegetables and lightly season with salt and pepper. Sauté the vegetables until the tomatoes start to release their juice. Add your chicharron back in and sauté for 10 mins to allow the pork to stew with the vegetables. This will add a delicious flavor, turn off the heat and let it cool. Once cooled, it's time to process it. You can do this in a processor, blender or if you have a grinder you can use that as well. You want the consistency to still have tiny pieces of meat and not fully a paste. In the same pan, turn the heat to medium and refry the processed chicharron. Refry it until golden brown, it will take about 10 mins depending on the amount. Stir it often to prevent over frying or burning it. Take it off the heat, allow it to cool. If you are making pupusas immediately I recommend you put the amount you'll be using in a container and place it in the fridge to cool. Anything that you won't be using immediately needs to be stored in air tight containers and placed in the freezer. Divide portions based on how many pupusas you'll make at a time. Normally a cup of chicharron should be enough anywhere btw 6-10 pupusas depending on how much filling you add to each.

(All links may be affiliated) We always keep a batch of curtido on hand, we eat it with everything! Curtido is an integral part of the Salvadoran cuisine, it's commonly known as a topping for pupusas, However, it serves as a topping or side for many Salvadoran dishes. The best way that I can translate what curtido means in English would be with the word "pickled." What is Curtido Salvadoreño? (What is Salvadoran cabbage slaw?) Curtido Salvadoreño is a pickled slaw made with green cabbage, carrots, onions an pickled in a vinegar and water mixture. It's typically made and left to pickle (curtirse) for a few hours or over night before you eat it. It's tangy, crunchy and provides a great balance when eating it with savory dishes. Curtido can be a side or a topping on pupusas, pastelitos, yuca frita, etc. When used as a topping is normally accompanied by a fresh homemade tomato sauce. How to make Curtido Salvadoreño? (How to make Salvadoran cabbage slaw?) No curtido is the same! The main typical ingredients are listed below but many get creative and additional toppings such as peppers for spice. I've eaten curtidos with cauliflower, habanero, cucumbers, whole jalapeños, big pieces of carrots, etc. Use this recipe as your base and experiment to your liking. Ingredients 1 green cabbage 1-2 carrots 1 red onion - You can substitute this for your preferred onion 1 jalapeño - this is optional. You can also add any pepper you want such as Serrano or habanero to meet your desired spice level. 1/2 cup of vinegar 2 cups water 1- 2 tbsp salt 1 tbsp dried oregano Instructions Prep your area, you will need: big mixing bowl cutting board knife grater peeler glass storage with lid Prep all of your vegetable: Start with the cabbage. Take off any leaves that are dry or seem damaged and wash the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half starting from the trunk and through the middle. Shred the cabbage as thinly as possible and place in the mixing bowl. Peel the carrots, grate them and add to mixing bowl Cut your onion into thin slices and add to mixing bowl Cut any additional vegetables or peppers and add to mixing bowl. Add the salt and oregano to the mixing bowl and start mixing it with your hands. As you mix you will squeeze excess water from the vegetables. This will cause a reduction in volume. Taste test and add more salt or oregano to taste. Mix your white vinegar and water separately. Grab your glass container where you will be storing the curtido and fill it up with the vegetable mix. Leave enough room for the liquid and add in the vinegar/water mixture to fill up the container. If there still space add more water. Put the lid on and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.

In El Salvador we "entomatar" everything! There is no clear translation in English that I could find so I'll describe the best I can. When you hear "entomatado" or "entomatada" it means that something has been stewed in the reduction of sautéed tomatoes. These tomatoes can be accompanied by onion, green bell pepper, cilantro and garlic but the tomato reduction is what brings everything together by creating a saucy base. Anything can be cooked in a entomatada. Huevos entomatados (Eggs stewed in sautéed tomato) are a popular choice for breakfast, any portein such as chicharrón (pork), steak or chicken can also be entomatado. And you can't forget veggies such as squash and potatoes. I enjoy all the things in a entomatada but one of my top items is a Bistec Entomatado! Ingredients for the Bistec: 2 lbs of thinly slices beef 1 tbsp mustard 1/2 tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tbsp beef bouillon 1 tsp Ground pepper 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp garlic powder Ingredients for the Entomatada: 4-6 Roma tomato 1/2 white or yellow onion 2-3 garlic cloves 1/4 green bell pepper Salt to taste Pepper to taste 1 tsp beef bouillon 1 tbsp preferred oil 1/2 cup of water or beef broth Instructions: Season the beef with all the ingredients listed and let it marinade overnight or at least an hour When you're ready to cook it, medium dice the vegetables for the entomatada In a sauce pan at medium heat add the oil and seer each piece of beef for 1-2 minutes on each side. Set aside. In the same sauce pan add all the vegetables, 1/2 cup of water and the seasonings for the entomatada and sauté for 2 minutes. Cover and let the vegetables simmer for 10 minutes at low-medium heat. Uncover and finish crushing any tomato not fully reduced. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. If you want It a bit saucier add another 1/2 -1 cup of water and rectify the seasoning. There should be enough sauce to cover all the beef. Add the beef back in, stir and cover. Let it stew for 15-20 minutes on low heat until beef is tender. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 5-10 mins before serving. This is typically served with white rice and beans or a salad. I enjoy mine with plain white rice so that the sauce covers the rice with flavor. I hope you enjoy this home meal and for more recipes follow @flourishwithg on Instagram and Tiktok.

Pinchos are not just food in Puerto Rico, they are part of the culture! If you're going to Puerto Rico any time soon, do yourself a favor and stop to get a pincho. Pincho's are skewers made with pork or chicken, typically covered in a bbq sauce and topped with a piece of bread. They are considered street food and can be found on the side of the road at a stand or in chinchorros, which are small food kiosks. If you're not planning to go to PR any time soon, not to worry because I'm sharing my husband's recipe today! As many of you know my husband is from Naguabo, PR and he makes these often to please our family's cravings and now you can too! How to make pinchos de pollo? Pinchos are typically cooked on a grill but feel free to throw them in an oven or air fryer if you don't have a grill. My husband likes to grill them in his pellet Pit Boss Grill, and they come out perfectly cooked each and every time. Ingredients: 3lbs Chicken Thighs (2-3 skewers per lb) Olive oil Garlic powder Smoked Paprika Black pepper onion powder adobo Salt to taste Wooden skewers or stainless steel skewers Instructions: Wash, clean and remove excess fat from the chicken thighs. Then cut each chicken thigh into 2-3 pieces and add them to a large mixing bowl. Add olive oil or oil of preference and mix well, this will serve as the binder. Add in all the other seasonings listed above and mix until seasoned evenly and let set it to marinate over night. About an hour before you are ready to put the skewers together, place the wooden skewers in water, this will prevent the skewer from burning in the grill. Make a sauce! if we are in a hurry we mix BBQ Sauce, Sriracha and mustard. Other times we like to make a chimichurri to top the pincho with! Now it's time to "pinchar," which is to pinch the chicken on the skewer. Depending on how big or small you want to make each skewer you will use 2-4 pieces of chicken thigh on each one. Pre-heat your grill, over or air fryer to 350 degrees and cook for 15-20 mins or until internal temperature reaches 165. If you're using a grill we usually place the skewers on the top rack and then the last two minutes we pass them through the flame to give them a charbroiled taste. Once the skewer is cooked, spread some sauce on all over and top it off with a piece of pan sobao or any bread. You can also warm or toast the bread on the grill. This is the perfect meal for pool days with grilled vegetables on the side to enjoy with your family. Hope you enjoy it and if you make it don't forget to tag @flourishwithg. For more recipes follow @flourishwithg on Instragram and Tiktok.

If you're not from El Salvador, you will immediately look at the images in this post and think the name was wrongly typed... but it's not. What is typically known in Mexico and in the US as a 'Tostada' in El Salvador we know it as an 'Enchilada." I clearly remember getting into an argument with one of my friends from Mexico at the age of 6 or 7 years over what this was called... I didn't quite understand at that age that things could be called differently in other countries. What are enchiladas Salvadoreñas? It's the same concept as a tostada but made with ingredients Salvadoreños. The enchilada is typically made with Salvadoran refried beans, cooked and seasoned ground beef, curtido, boiled egg, queso duro and tomato sauce on top. What makes it unique in my opinion is the red refried beans, the curtido and the queso duro. How to make Enchiladas Salvadoreñas? I normally make these when I have a lot of the ingredient left over from other meals, like the curtido that's typically left over after I make pupusas. A lot of these items I have already posted the recipe before so I will link it to the step by step post below. Ingredients: Fried tortilla: You can make handmade corn flour tortillas and fry them or fry a store bough tortilla. It needs to be golden brown and crunchy. I typically fry it in vegetable oil medium heat about 2-3 mins. Frijoles Salvadoreños refritos: This is a two step process, first boil the beans and then refry the beans. Step by step instructions can be found under recipes. Ground beef (Or choice of protein): In a medium heat sauce pan add the oil. Then add in the ground protein and all of the ingredients listed below. Cook until well done (about 10 mins) and set aside to cool for 10 mins. - 1/2 tbsp of olive oil - 1-2 garlic cloves - 1lb of ground protein - 1tsp of paprika - 1tsp of cumin - 1tsp of oregano - 1tsp of beef bouillon - Salt and pepper to taste Curtido: A freshly made version can be used or pickled overnight. If you want it pickled then make it minimum a day before to allow for it to pickle but if you want it fresh, you can make it the day of. Recipe can be found here. Boiled egg: Boil eggs for about 7 mins or until they are well done and slice them. Queso duro: Typically hard Salvadoran cheese is shredded and added on top. If you live in a state that this is hard to get you can use queso fresco or any cheese you want. Salsa de tomate: This is the finishing touch! Remember that you can exclude any ingredient you don't like or have! As always for more recipes or videos follow me @flourishwithg on IG or TikTok.

(Links on this page may be affiliated) Quesadilla Salvadoreña brings many memories of sitting with my family on a Saturday morning or after a party around a table eating a piece of it with warm coffee. You may have heard of 'pan dulce' or sweet bread before, quesadilla is a type of sweet bread from El Salvador. It's made with Salvadoran cheese, sour cream and rice flour as some of the main ingredients. The consistency is similar to a pound cake and it's typically enjoyed with coffee or hot chocolate. My mom did not have a recipe but we were all in luck that @hoozay on instagram posted his mom's recipe a few days ago. His moms recipe is for a big batch of about 3-4 big trays so the measurements below are cut in half for a smaller batch that made 6 muffins and two 9in round pans. I bought enough to make the big batch but I split it into two in case I made any mistakes, and I'm so glad I did! I learned a lot in the first batch and for the second batch I was able to adjust the recipe to taste. How to make quesadilla Salvadoreña? Let me start out by saying that I researched many different recipes and no two recipes were the same. They all had similar ingredients but varied in type of cheese and measurements for some of the ingredients. Tips: Melt the butter: The first batch the butter was not fully melted and it caused the consistency of the batter to be bumpy Eggs should be at room temperature and whisked Use two big bowls: One for dry ingredients and the other for wet ingredients. Don't buy gourmet parmesan the taste is too strong and it caused the quesadilla to have a strong parmesan flavor. The already grated parmesan in a bottle works fine. Salvadoran products can be found at Latin/Hispanic grocery stores or Salvadoran restaurants sometimes sell Salvadoran products. Grate or process the cheeses as small as you can Let it rest for 30 mins before you eat it Ingredients: @hoozay mom's recipe for approximately four large trays. You can visit his Instagram profile to see his original post. 1 lb Salvadoran queso duroblando 1 lb Parmesan Cheese 1 lb buttermilk pancake mix 1 lb rice flour 2 cups of sugar 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1lb Salvadoran cream 1lb unsalted melted butter 4 eggs at room temperature 5 cups of whole milk Sesame seeds Measurements for half the amount: I made 6 muffins and two 9inch round pans of out of this. 8 oz Salvadoran queso duro blando 8 oz Parmesan Cheese 8 oz buttermilk pancake mix 8 oz rice flour 1 cups of sugar: 1/2 tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 8 oz Salvadoran cream 8 oz unsalted melted butter (two sticks) 2 eggs at room temperature 2 1/2 cups of whole milk Sesame seeds Below is the recipe with the adjustments I made after the first batch: This one was less cheesier tasting and a bit more sweet. 8 oz Salvadoran queso duro blando 4 oz Parmesan Cheese 8 oz buttermilk pancake mix 8 oz rice flour 1 1/2 cups of sugar: 1/2 tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 8 oz Salvadoran cream 8 oz unsalted melted butter (two sticks) 2 eggs at room temperature 2 1/2 cups of whole milk 1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract Sesame seeds Step by step instructions: Heat your oven to 350. Grab a bowl and mix in all of the dry ingredients: cheeses, pancake mix, rice flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grab a second big bowl and mix all the wet ingredients, the bowl has to fit the dry ingredients as well. Whisk the eggs Whisk in the melted butter Whisk in the cream Whisk in the whole milk Whisk in the vanilla extract Start to whisk in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until fully combined. The batter should be similar to pancaked batter consistency just a bit more thicker. Grease your pan or pans and fill 1 to 1 1/2 inches or desired thickness with the batter and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Place your pan in the middle of the oven and bake until golden brown Muffins: 35-40 mins 9inch round glass pan: 40-45 mins We had a divided house, half of our household liked the first batch with more of a cheesier taste and the other half liked the second batch. Both are delicious, so I'm sure whichever you choose to make will turn out great! To see the video guide follow me on Instagram or TikTok @flourishwithg.

Flan may not be from El Salvador, but I sure did fusion it with horchata Salvadoreña. If you saw last weeks blog post you know I made horchata Salvadoreña from scratch and it was delicious! The next day I was making flan for our Christmas Eve party and decided to throw in 3/4 cup of horchata in the flan mix before baking it and oh. my. goodness. It was so good, my family loved the flan! How to make flan de horchata? There is nothing special about the flan recipe, it's like any regular flan recipe but add in the horchata. If you've never made flan, there are three steps; the caramel, the flan mix and the baking. Ingredients: For a 9in round pan 14 oz can condensed milk 12 oz can evaporated milk 3 eggs at room temperature 3/4 cup of orchata Salvadoreña 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup of water Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Prepare "el baño de Maria." For this you will need a big baking pan to place the 9in baking dish in and deep enough to add about an inch of water. Heat up the water and place it in the big pan, it should reach at least half way of the outside of the 9 inch baking dish. This will warm up the 9inch baking dish so it's easier to spread the caramel. Place a small sauce pan on medium heat. Once the pan is fully heated add the sugar and water, and mix well. The mixture will start to change color slowly, the moment you start to see the liquid turn light yellow start to mix in order for the sugar to melt evenly. Once the mixture is golden brown add to the 9 inch baking container and make sure it covers the entire bottom portion of the container and if you have enough on the sides as well. Blend the milks, eggs, horchata and vanilla extract all together. Add this mixture to the 9 inch baking dish on top of the caramel. Cover the 9inch baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 mins. Stick a toothpick in, once it comes out clean it's done. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down for about 30-60 mins. Place it in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of two hours to set before serving. Once ready to serve, use a butter knife to loosen the flan from the sides of the baking dish. place a plate on top of the baking dish and flip it over onto the serving plate.

My favorite meal, even in the Texas summer! Every culture has their own version of chicken soup and I'm a fan of ALL of them! Chicken soup was my favorite meal growing up and until this day it's my go to comfort meal at any point in the year! It's no surprise that this is one of the first meals I learned how to cook with my mom when I was a teenager. Over the years I've made if for my friends when they are sick or when it's cold, and it's always a hit. In El Salvador 'Sopa de Pollo' y 'Sopa de gallina India' are very popular meals. The chicken or hen is used to make the broth for the soup and then grilled or fried and served on the side. During the holidays or on special occasions, I remember my parents going to chicken farms to find a hen which is referred to as a 'Gallina India.' My mom would make a humongous pot of soup and they would invite all of my tias over for dinner. The hen has a distinct taste and it's known to be better to make the broth, but it's tougher so it requires a different process to prepare it and longer to cook it. Once the broth is made, the process is the same for both the chicken and hen. This recipe is made with chicken and it's based on my mom's recipe that she taught me. I've slightly tweaked to include a few more ingredients that I've learned to like over the years. Just like any other recipe that I share... make it your own! I try to switch up the vegetables I add to the soup each time depending on my mood and the availability of the vegetables. I never skip potato, carrots and squash which is very common in any chicken soup, but I do skip out on the güisquil or chayote because I don't like it in soup. In addition I like to add green beans and zucchini and if I'm feeling "healthy," broccoli or cabbage. Other people may add corn, yuca, plantain, the options vary. Ingredients: Whole chicken Water 2-3 Bay leaves 1 Fresh Cilantro bunch 1 stick Celery 6 Fresh mint/spearmint leaves 2-3 Garlic cloves 1/2 Onion 1/2 Green bell pepper 1-2 strands Fresh parsley Pepper to taste Salt to taste Any vegetable you want to add such as: potato, carrots, güisquil (chayote), green beans, zucchini, squash, corn, cabbage, etc. Magi chicken soup packet (optional) 1 tbsp Chicken bouillon Chicken rub for frying (optional): Mustard Worcestershire sauce Chicken bouillon Garlic powder Paprika Pepper and salt to taste Place a pot (8 quarts) on the stove and fill it up halfway with water. The pot has to be big enough to fit the whole chicken, vegetables and the amount of desired broth. Prepare the chicken: Wash it or don't. I like to removed excess fat and cut it up, but you can leave it whole if desired. Once the water is hot add the chicken, 2-3 bay leaves, half of the fresh cilantro, celery, 5-6 leaves of fresh mint, 3-4 garlic cloves, half onion, 1/4th green bell pepper, one strand of fresh parsley, and pepper and salt to taste. If there is still room in your pot, add in more water. Cover and let it cook for about 30-45 mins. In the meantime peel and cut your vegetables. I live to cut my vegetables into small 1/2 inch cubes or so but it's up to you. I separate the squash and zucchini from the rest of the vegetables because they cook fast, so I add them towards the end.I typically leave the potato in water along with the other vegetables. After 30 mins check the broth, if there is fat or foam accumulated at the top remove it my skimming it with a ladle and dispose of it. Cover it again and let it cook for 15 more minutes or until the chicken if fully cooked. Once the chicken is fully cooked, take the chicken out and set it to the side. Strain your broth and place it back in the pot on medium heat. Now add in your vegetables, the Magi chicken soup packet and 1 tbsp of chicken bouillon. Taste test the broth and adjust with salt and pepper. The magi packet has a mix of chicken seasoning and either noodles, rice or shell shaped pasta. Cover and let it cook for 10 minutes. After ten minutes add in the squash and let it come to a boi, it should take no longer than 2-3 mins after adding the squash. Turn off the heat and let it rest. You can choose to add the chicken back into the soup with the bone or boneless, or you can choose to fry it. To fry the chicken it has to be in pieces, season it with a paste made with with mustard, paprika, chicken bouillon, pepper, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Rub the paste on each chicken piece and then fry on both sides until golden brown. Serve and enjoy! If you fried the chicken, serve it with a side salad and a bowl of soup. Most restaurants also serve a side of rice but since I add the magi soup that contains noodle already I prefer not to serve rice. The soup is delicious so it doesn't really need anything to eat it with but you can eat avocado, fresh jalapeño or more cilantro if desired. Either way I hope this meal brings you warmth and happiness at any time of year!

If you ever go visit El Salvador, you will find that at a lot of the stop lights, plazas and parks there is an abundance of vendors selling goodies. One of the goodies you'll find is yuca frita (fried cassava) with curtido and salsa in a bag. The yuca will sometimes be cut into fries or 'enredos' which translates into 'yuca knots' that are fried as well. If you haven't caught on yet, yuca is one of our favorite roots to cook with. One of the best ways to elevate fried yuca is to add chicharrones, this is commonly served as an appetizer in most restaurants Salvadoreños. What is yuca frita con chicharron? Yuca is a root that has a similar consistency to potato when boiled and in my opinion just as delicious. For this dish the yuca is first cooked by boiling it until its tender and then fried into yuca fries or chunks. Yuca frita can be eaten with curtido and salsa but it's typical to also add chicharrones to complete the dish. Chicharrones is fried meat nuggets, in El Salvador fried pork meat is typically called chicharrones. The pork is cut into pieces, seasoned and fried. How to make yuca frita con chicharrones? This is a pretty easy dish to make, it just takes some time. I suggest you have to two different pots to make the yuca and the chicharrones at the same time. The chicharrones take about an hour to hour and half, the yuca takes about 45 minutes to boil and fry. How to fry the yuca? Ingredients: 2-3 Large yuca roots Vegetable oil 1/2 tbsp salt Cut each yuca root into 3-4 pieces and peel completely. In a large pot add water and 1/2 tbsp of salt Once the water is hot add in the peeled yuca, cover and let it cook until tender. Once tender drain the water and cut the yuca into your desired shape. I cut mine to resemble thick fries or wedges. In a frying pan add enough vegetable oil to cover each piece halfway. If can also use a deep fryer for this. Once the oil is hot add the yuca and fry it until golden brown on both sides. Remove from pan and place on a frying rack. How to make pork chicharrones? Ingredients: 2 lbs Pork shoulder or Pork leg 1 1/2 tbsp Salt 1 tbsp ground black pepper 1/2 tbsp oregano 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tbsp chicken buillon 1/2 tbsp adobo 1/2 tbsp garlic powder Cut the pork into 1-1/2 inch pieces Clean the pork with water, white vinegar, lime and salt. Pat it dry and season with 1 tbsp of salt, black pepper, oregano, paprika, ground cumin, chicken bouillon, adobo and garlic powder., cover and let it marinade for min 30 mins in the fridge or let it marinade over night. Get a big frying pan and turn to medium heat. Once the pan is hot add the pork, I don't add oil because the pork already has a lot of fat and will fry in its own lard. When you see it start to release water, cover it and let it cook on medium heat for about 45 mins - 1hr or until tender. Remove the cover and let it fry in it's own lard for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on medium-high heat. Do not over fry it because it will become dry and hard. If you used a lean cut of pork, you may have to use oil to fry the pork. To serve add a few yuca pieces, curtido and salsa on the side, and the chicharrones on top. The best way to eat it is to grab a piece of yuca, add a bit of curtido, a piece of chicharron and throw some salsa on top! Both the curtido and salsa recipes can be found on the blog under recipes page. Buen porovecho!

One of my favorite home cooked meals for any night of the week! I love a good meal that involves sauce, growing up my mom frequently made 'albondigas' also known as 'Tortitas de carne' which in English is meat patty. She would stew them in home made tomato sauce and served it with rice, beans and tortillas. Now a days this is one of my go to meals during the week because its quick, easy and can be made as healthy as you want it. Typically 'tortitas de carne' are made with red meat and vegetables and then fried to stew in a tomato based sauce. The beauty of this dish is that you can tailor it to be your own and on nights where you are in a hurry just throw whatever you find in your fridge. Out of all the variations I've made over the years, I'm sharing my favorite version. I've made a few changes to my moms recipe but mostly on the technique I use. For the patties I prefer to put all the vegetables in the processor and get it to the smallest size without it becoming a sauce. I do this because I don't like the bigger chucks of vegetables, they tend to fall out or make the patties chunkier. On the sauce side, I add half of a 'Mexican squash' for more nutrition. I also tend to air fry the instead of frying them on days that I'm feeling lazy. As I always say "Learn the process, make it your own!" Ingredients: Tortitas de Carne 1-1/2 lbs ground beef, chicken or turkey 1/4 green bell pepper 1/4 white onion 1 roma tomatoes 2 garlic cloves bunch of cilantro salt & pepper to tasta 1 tbsp Chicken or beef bouillon 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp paprika 1 egg Salsa inglesa Mustard Sauce 3 Tomatoes 1/4 bell pepper 1/4 onion 2 garlic cloves 1/2 squash (optional) 1 tbsp chicken buillon 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp oregano 1/2 packed of cilantro & annatto sazon Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup of water Wash and cut the vegetables and herbs for the meat patties. Finely dice them or put them in a processor to get them into small pieces. Season the protein with the seasonings listed, add the diced vegetables and the egg. Mix everything well and on parchment paper start to shape it into extra small burger patties. Sear each meat patty on a pan on medium heat with preferred oil OR air fry them for 10 mins. They do not need to be cooked all the way through because they will finish cooking in the sauce. If you don't want to stew them in sauce then cook them throughly. While the meat patties are cooking, make the sauce. Add all the ingredients and blend them until smooth. Place a sauce pan on medium heat, once hot add the sauce and let it come to a light boil. Once it starts to boil add in the meat patties. Cover and let it stew for 10 mins or until they are throughly cooked. Because I'm trying to keep things on the healthier side I served it with a spinach based salad and steamed white rice but you do as your heart desires! For the video recipe follow @Flourishwithg on instagram and TikTok. Enjoy!

When I was a child, nothing could make me eat an onion... and now, I don't cook without it. My parents would often take us out to eat to a Salvadoran restaurant and my mom would always get the "Pollo encebollado." Since I didn't like onion, I would never accept the offer to try some... and boy was that the biggest mistake. One day I was feeling like a rather adventurous twelve year old and decided to give it a try... wow. That bite flipped my palette, I never knew onion could taste so good. I consider this a 'core memory' because up until today I remember that pollo encebollado. What is pollo encebollado? Pollo ecebollado translates to 'chicken and onions' in English. The chicken is seasoned with staple items like mustard, Salsa Inglesa (Worcestershire sauce) and your preferred seasonings. It is then lightly fried until golden brown on each side and then combined with sautéed onions. The interesting fact in all of this is that my mom didn't ever make it at home growing up, we only had it at this restaurant. So I had to dig around a bit to find recipes online and I found 'Cocinemos con Cristina' on YouTube to be the one that looked the most similar. Through this research I realized that everyone in El Salvador makes this their own way (as they should!), there were some recipes that required old bread or white wine, others suggested green bell peppers, etc. So I took the seasoning my tias use for the chicken and I incorporated some things from the recipes I found online... and I'm so proud of how it came out! It was finger licking good! Ingredients: 2lbs of chicken bone in - I prefer to use dark meat so I used chicken thighs Mustard Salsa Inglesa or Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon 1 tsp oregano Garlic power to taste Pepper and salt to taste 1-2 onions 1/4 cup white wine 1/2 green bell pepper (optional) 1/2 of pan frances (French bread or bolillo)- preferably, hard. (Optional) 2 tbsp Vegetable oil Instructions Season your chicken and let it marinade over night or at least 30 mins in the fridge. Add mustard, Salsa Inglesa, cumin, paprika, chicken bouillon, garlic, oregano, pepper and salt, and rub the chicken well. Feel free to add or substitute any items you don't like. Peel and cut your onion into onion rings. If you want to add green bell pepper cut into thin slices. Add mustard, salsa inglesa, salt and pepper to taste to the chopped veggies and mix it well. In a frying pan or sauce pan add the oil and set it at medium heat. Once the oil is hot add in your chicken and allow both sides to get golden brown. If you choose to leave the skin on make sure it gets crispy! Once the chicken is done, set it to the side. If you don't want to fry the chicken, you can air fry it! I did this with half of my thighs and they came out delicious. In the same pan add your chopped vegetables and sauté until the onions are translucent. Once the onions are translucent add the white wine and add your chicken on top. Cover and let it cook on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked to 165 degrees internally. This is a quick meal that can be cooked any day of the week. Serve it with rice of your choice and a fresh salad. Hope you enjoy it and as always learn the process and make it your own! The video recipe can be found @Flourishwithg on both Instagram and TikTok.