Salvadorian cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of El Salvador. The traditional cuisine consists of food from indigenous Pipil and Spanish peoples. Many of the dishes are made with maize (corn). El Salvador’s most notable dish is the pupusa, a thick handmade corn flour or rice flour tortilla stuffed with cheese, chicharrón (cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency), refried beans, and/or loroco (a vine flower bud native to Central America). There are also vegetarian options, often with ayote (a type of squash) or garlic. Some adventurous restaurants even offer pupusas stuffed with shrimp or spinach which are served with salsa roja, a simple yet flavorful Salvadoran cooked tomato sauce, often served with curtido. Pollo encebollado is another popular Salvadoran dish that contains chicken simmered with onions. Famous Salvadoran cheese is eaten with these meals such as queso duro (hard cheese), queso fresco (fresh cheese), and cuajada. thumb|200px|right|Loroco is a Mesoamerican plant widely used in Salvadoran dishes, such as pupusas thumb|200px|right|Izote flower is a Mesoamerican flower, widely used in Salvadoran cuisine, eaten mixed with scrambled eggs or lemon. thumb|200px|right|Salvadoran tortillas are a staple of the Salvadoran diet. These are thicker (5 mm) than Mexican tortillas, and are about 10 cm in diameter. Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are yuca frita and panes rellenos. Yuca frita is deep fried cassava root served with curtido (a pickled cabbage, onion and carrot topping) and chicharron with pepesca (fried baby sardines). The Yuca is sometimes served boiled instead of fried. Panes Rellenos (“Stuffed Bread”) are warm submarine sandwiches. The turkey or chicken is marinated and then roasted with Pipil spices and hand-pulled. This sandwich is traditionally served with turkey or chicken, tomato, and watercress along with cucumber, onion, chili, lettuce, mayonnaise, and mustard. Other well-known Salvadoran dishes include carne guisada (beef with mushrooms), lomo entomatado (beef with tomatoes), carne asada (grilled steak, usually served with a type of Salvadoran salsa called chimol), pasteles de carne (meat pies), pollo guisado con hongos (chicken with mushrooms), pacalla (palm flowers breaded in cornmeal, fried and served with tomato sauce), pavo salvadoreño (roast turkey with sauce, often eaten for Christmas), ceviche de camarones (lime-cooked shrimp), and pescado empanizado (breaded, fried fish fillets).
