Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the noblest, most valuable, and most important resident of Maryland, made a pupusa-based asylum claim in 2019 (AP):
Abrego Garcia grew up in El Salvador’s capital city, San Salvador, according to court documents filed in U.S. immigration court in 2019. His father was a former police officer. His mother, Cecilia, sold pupusas, the nation’s signature dish of flat tortilla pouches that hold steaming blends of cheese, beans or pork.
The entire family, including his two sisters and brother, ran the business from home, court records state. Abrego Garcia’s job was buying ingredients and making deliveries with his older brother, Cesar.
“Everyone in the town knew to get their pupusas from ‘Pupuseria Cecilia,’” his lawyers wrote.
A local gang, Barrio 18, began extorting the family for “rent money” and threatened to kill Cesar — or force him into their gang — if they weren’t paid, court documents state. The family complied but eventually sent Cesar to the U.S.
The vast U.S. immigration bureaucracy found the pupusa story credible. The home-based business made such great pupusas that it was ripe for extortion by a powerful gang. Presumably, no judge would have made this finding without having seen the recipe for the Abrego Garcia pupusas. Yet, as with the JFK assassination investigation files, there has been a massive coverup and the pupusa recipe hasn’t been released. Why not a Freedom of Information Act request to ICE to get the recipe so that every American who is passionate about due process can make pupusas every night until Mr. Abrego Garcia is free.
Here’s a Maryland Senator, Mr. Abrego Garcia, an interpreter, I think (why bother to learn English if you’re only in the U.S. for 15 years?), and margaritas (from X):
In the meantime, we have ChatGPT:
Here’s a basic pupusa recipe — traditional Salvadoran stuffed corn cakes — with just a few ingredients:
Ingredients:
For the dough:
- 2 cups masa harina (corn flour, such as Maseca)
- 1½ to 2 cups warm water
- ½ tsp salt
Common fillings:
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (or Salvadoran quesillo if available)
- Optional: refried beans, cooked pork (chicharrón), or loroco (a Central American edible flower)
Instructions:
- Make the dough:
- In a large bowl, mix masa harina with salt.
- Slowly add warm water and knead until you get a soft, pliable dough that doesn’t crack or stick to your hands. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Prepare fillings:
- Mix cheese with beans or pork if using.
- Divide the filling into about 6–8 portions.
- Form the pupusas:
- Wet your hands and divide the dough into 6–8 equal balls.
- Flatten a ball into a 4-inch disc, place a spoonful of filling in the center, then pinch the dough closed around it.
- Flatten it gently into a thick disc, about 4–5 inches wide.
- Cook:
- Heat a lightly oiled skillet or griddle over medium heat.
- Cook each pupusa for about 2–3 minutes per side, until golden and slightly blistered.
- Serve:
- Serve hot with curtido (a lightly fermented cabbage slaw) and tomato salsa.