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Cupboard cuisine

Here a couple of meals I made during a recent spell of being broke that I wrote about here. They were good enough to make again when I had money in the bank.

Pupusas
Pupusas, griddled masa cakes, are El Salvador’s national dish and are great for a cheap and delicious meal.

Bag of masa (used for making tortillas)

Can of black beans, drained.

Grated jack cheese

Vegetable oil

1. Follow instructions to make the masa.

2. Put dough into a bowl. Form a ball of dough about as big as an egg.

3. Using your thumb, press a hole into the middle and add some beans and cheese. Carefully fold over the edges of the dough to seal the beans and cheese, trapping into a little pocket. Using your hands in a patty cake like motion, flatten the ball into a disc. Doing this to avoid bursting your pocked of beans and rice will take a little practice.

4. Once done, place your pupusa into a hot skillet with a little oil and cook until browned. If a little cheese oozes out, all the better. Repeat as often as necessary.

Pasta with quick tomato sauce
(adapted from “The Kitchen Detective” by Christopher Kimball)

This recipe utilizes just a few ingredients but creates a really memorable dish thanks to a great technique for infusing the pasta with sauce.
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper

1 pound dried pasta

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Mince garlic

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in 12-inch wide pan and add garlic, cooking until fragrant but not browned.

3. Add tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Bring 4 quarts of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook for half the time indicated on the package.

5. Drain pasta and save 2 cups of pasta water.

6. Add half-cooked pasta to tomatoes and continue cooking, adding reserved water as necessary to keep moist and saucy. With 2 minutes cooking time remaining, add 1 tablespoon olive oil adding more salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. The pasta and sauce will look drier than normal but will be loaded with flavor.

7. Serve immediately with grated cheese on top.