Sopes: Delicious bundles of masa

Sopes


This recipe is shamelessly adapted from one of the world's great experts on Mexican Cooking,  Diana Kennedy From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients, Clarkson Potter.
Sopes, (pronounced like "so pays"  are "antojitos" or a small appetizer  served throughout Mexico before the main meal. In sopes the masa has the edge pinched up to form a slight ridge which is filled with a sauce and toppings of your choice.  The most simiple sope may be topped with good quality refried beans or perhaps with shredded meat, a homemade tomato sauce  and some crumbled cheese, chopped onion, and either shredded cabbage or lettuce. Kennedy's recipe below is meticulous and should make about 12 sopes.

12 sopes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups masa harina (dried Maseca flour)
1 cup warm water
Oil  for reheating
1/2 cup Frijoles Refritos (refried beans) recipe follows
1 1/2 cups Chorizo y Papa (Chorizo sausage with Potato), recipe follows
1/2 cup Salsa de Jitomate (Homemade Tomato sauce), recipe follows
1 cup finely shredded lettuce or cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1/3 cup finely grated anejo cheese (aged cheese like shaved Parmesan ) or the real thing if you can get it from a Mexican market.

Directions

Put the masa harina  in a bowl and add the warm water, reserving about 1/4 cup of water until you see how much the flour will absorb. Work well with your hands until smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a cool spot for about 1 hour. After resting, divide into 12 equal parts. Roll each into a ball about 1 1/4 inches in diameter and cover with a damp cloth while you work. Warm an ungreased comal or preferably an iron skillet over medium heat.

Take 1 of the balls and press out gently in a lined tortilla press or by hand to a disk about 3 1/2 inches; it must be thicker than a tortilla, about 1/4-inch. Place carefully on the comal and cook over medium to low heat until the underside is opaque and speckled with brown, about 2 minutes. Turn the sope over and cook on the second side for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the comal and immediately (although you may burn your fingers a little) pinch up the dough around the outside of the disk of the sope and cook until the dough is firm and cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Continue making the rest of the sopes.

Heat a very small amount of the lard or oil in a skillet and let the sopes heat through for about 1/2 minute on each side. Spread with the refried beans and other ingredients. Serve immediately.

Refried Beans: Frijoles Refritos:

About 1/3 cup oil or lard melted

1 TB finely chopped onion

3 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans in their broth

Heat the lard in a heavy 10-inch skillet, add the onion and fry over medium heat without browning, until translucent, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the beans and their broth and continue cooking over fairly high heat, mashing them down to a paste texture, about 10 minutes. Makes 3 cups

Chorizo and Potato Filling: Chorizo y Papa:

Approximately 1 tablespoon lard or vegetable oil

1 Mexican chorizo, about 3 ounces (found in Mexican stores)

6 ounces  potatoes, diced and cooked al dente,  about  1  cup

1 chipotle en adobo, chopped. This means taking a can of Chipotle chiles which are widely available now in larger markets and removing one from the can with its adobo, or special sauce still clinging to it and chopping it. Reserve the other chiles in glass or non metal container for future use.

Sea salt
In a small skillet. Skin and crumble the chorizo into the pan, and cook over low heat until the fat has been rendered out. (I like to dab the top of the drained chorizo with a clean paper towel to try to thoroughly remove as much oil as possible. Then add the potatoes and chile, if using, and continue cooking over medium heat  about 8 minutes. Season with salt. Set aside to cool a little before using.

Yield: 1 cup

Salsa de Jitomate (Homemade Tomato Sauce):

2 garlic cloves

4 serrano chiles, asado (roasted)  and roughly chopped
Sea salt

1 pound tomatoes, which are roasted (see below)

About 1/3 cup finely chopped white onion

About 1/3 roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Crush garlic, chiles and salt into a paste. Gradually add the tomatoes (unpeeled), grinding well after each addition. The sauce should be textured and the skin will never all completely disappear.

Sprinkle the top with the onion and cilantro and serve.

Yield: 2 cups

Chiles Asado:

Place the whole chilies on an ungreased griddle over medium heat and turn them from time to time until the flesh is fairly soft; there will be brownish patches on the skin and the color will have faded somewhat. Then, if they are to be ground with other ingredients, chop roughly before blending. Note well: they are to be neither peeled nor seeded.

Tomatoes Asados:

Whole tomatoes are cooked on a ungreased comal or griddle until they are slightly charred and mushy to guarantee a specially delicious table or cooked sauce. Kennedy leaves the skins on which she says make for better flavor. (By the way, wait to make this when the real vine ripe tomatoes are in season.)  While the appearance of the sauce may not be as attractive, the flavor and texture are incomparable. This method of cooking tomatoes is particularly recommended for freezing and storing for the months when tomatoes are not at their best.  Or you want to broil them in a more practical way. Choose a shallow pan in which the tomatoes will just fit in 1 layer, not too large or the juice that is exuded will dry up.  Place the pan about 2 inches below a heated broiler and broil until the top halves of the tomatoes are soft and the skin is blistered and slightly browned. Turn the tomatoes over and repeat on the other side. The exuded juice will be sweet and syrupy so save it to blend with the tomatoes.