Traditional pupusas are thick pancake-like dish stuffed with some sort of savory filling.

The version in this recipe is a casserole instead of the tortilla version and that makes a bit of a difference as it allows to produce a larger amount with smaller effort since it does not require that each pupusa is cooked individually.

It was delicious dish as evidenced by half of it being gone before I had a chance to take a shot.

The second surprise to this recipe is the addition of an ingredient I never used before: nopalitos or cactus paddles.

I did not what to expect and was pleasantly surprised; they taste like milder pickles and complement the sweetness of the corn flour (masa harina) in a perfect way.

Recipe

Realistic prep time for me was close to 45 minutes with a total cooking time of about an hour and a half, but don’t let that be a discouragement - it was an easy to make meal.

Ingredients

• 2 cups nopalitos (about 6 chopped nopales, cactus paddles)
• 2 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly groUnd black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeño peppers (about 1 cup), divided

Dough:

• 7.7 ounces masa harina (about 2 1/4 cups) - go for 8 ounces
• 1 cup water - I found I needed to add more as I shaped the dough
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375F. (do this later - it takes a while to make the filling)
2. To prepare filling. cook nopalitos in boiling water 10 minutes.
   Drain.
3. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, and pepper.
   Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.
   Coat pan with cooking spray.
   Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.
   Remove chicken from pan; cool slightly, and shred with 2 forks.
4. Heat pan over medium heat.
   Add onion and garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until tender.
   Stir in nopalitos, chicken, and 2/3 cup cheese.
   Cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
5. To prepare dough, weigh or lightly spoon masa harina in dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
   Combine masa harina, 1 up water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
   Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly.
   Press one-third of dough into an 11 x 7—inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
   Spread filling over dough.
   Gently press remaining dough into a 4-inch square on heavy-duty plastic wrap.
   Cover with additional plastic wrap.
   Roll, still covered, into an 11 x 7—inch rectangle.
   Remove bottom sheet of plastic wrap; fit dough over filling.
   Remove top sheet of plastic wrap.
   Bake at 3750 for 20 minutes.
   Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese.
   Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serves 8 (serving size: 1/8 of casserole)

• calories 234;
• fat 7g (sat 3.2g, mono 1.9g, poly 1g);
• protein 16g;
• carbs 26.8g;
• fiber 1.6g;
• cholesterol 35mg;
• iron 33mg; sodium 474mg; calcium 244mg