Red Bean Pupusas with Curtido and Salsa Picante
[Vegan, Gluten-Free]

For the VMT Refried Red Beans:

1. Cook the beans a minute or two longer than normal, drain, but reserve your bean juice. (My red beans took 15 minutes in the pressure cooker to perfect tenderness; no pre-soak.)
2. Pan fry whole garlic cloves with olive oil in a large skillet until browned on both sides. Mash the garlic cloves with a fork, then add the beans and spices over low heat.
3. Allow them to simmer for a couple minutes while you go to work with a potato masher. Add the lime juice, olive oil, and bean juice to keep the mixture soft and workable. You decide what sort of viscosity you want them to be and add liquid accordingly. Make these ahead of time, and make a lot of them. They will not go to waste.
4. Curtido is a lightly fermented cabbage slaw that is CRUCIAL for pupusas.

For the Curtido: 

1. Got a shredding attachment for your food processor? Now's your chance to use it. Stuff the first three things through there and watch the magic happen.
2. When it's done, add the contents to a separate bowl, along with the rest of the ingredients, except the water, and massage around a bit. Then put it all into a glass jar or other container and fill over the top with the water.
3. Allow it to sit for a few hours. It'll keep for a couple weeks, at least. An extra splash of vin or dash of salt'll never hurt anyone.

1. Add it all to the blender, and let it rip. Afterward, pour into a saucepan and allow to simmer down for about 5 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. That's it! Now...you can pound out the pupusas.