Homemade Mexican Sopes: A Simple and Quick Recipe

When we talk about Mexican snacks, we think of an endless number of dishes such as tacos, tamales and quesadillas; but today we are going to talk about the delicious sopes.

Sopes have their origin in the pre-Hispanic cultures that inhabited the central and southern areas of our country; with the passing of time, this dish spread throughout the country and gained recognition as one of the favorite garnachas of Mexicans.

Like every food, depending on the place where it is prepared, the recipe varies a little; for example, in Nayarit the tortillas are passed through a sauce of ancho chile and oil, and filled with beans, potato, sliced lettuce, onion, cheese, radishes and tomato sauce; on the other hand, in Nayarit the sopes de ostión (oyster sopes) are typical.

The way of preparing them is so varied that we find sopes out of the ordinary, among them we find vegetarian sopes, sweet ones, and even heart-shaped ones! The latter were created in Mexico City by a restaurant to celebrate the Day of Love and Friendship.

There is no doubt that the mix between Mexican ingenuity and gastronomy offers us creative and delicious dishes that allow us to show the love we feel, either to a person or to food.

This delicious Mexican snack requires easily available ingredients such as beans, chicken or lettuce, and it won't take long to prepare. If you want to make your own sopes, follow these simple steps. According to Mexican chef Patricia Jinich, this recipe will yield approximately 12 sopes.

Recipe for homemade Mexican sopes dough

Ingredients

Two cups of corn flour
Two cups of water at room temperature

Procedure

In a large bowl, mix the corn flour and water. Stir the ingredients with your hands until you get a smooth dough without lumps, if the dough is dry, add more water to the preparation. When ready, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel to keep the dough from drying out.

Once the dough is ready, roll it into small balls the size of meatballs. Line your tortilla press with plastic wrap, place a ball in the center and flatten. It should be thicker than a tortilla. Turn it over on your hand and carefully peel it off the plastic wrap.In a frying pan on the stove, place the flattened dough. Wait a few minutes for the bottom to cook and flip it over.

Pinch the edges of the tortilla to give it the shape of a sope. In another frying pan on the stove, add lard (or vegetable oil) and spread it over the entire surface and let it heat up. Place the sope and brown it on both sides. Do the same with all the sopes. When finished, place them on an absorbent paper towel to remove excess grease.

Now you can top your sopes with the stew of your choice. If you want simple sopes, simply spread refried beans and garnish with chopped onion, lettuce, cheese and salsa to taste, or add shredded chicken or beef and sour cream. Or get creative and add another type of protein.

Sopes with green sauce

6 servings, preparation time 15 minutes

Ingredients

250 g corn dough
250 g green tomatoes
1 bunch of cilantro, disinfected
1 clove garlic
¼ piece of onion
3 serrano chiles, seeded
salt
½ cup light cream
1 cup of fresh cheese
½ onion, finely chopped

How to prepare sopes

Add a little water to the corn dough and knead until you have a consistency to make tortillas. Flatten the dough balls with a press or tortilla press and put them to cook on a skillet, when they are cooked pinch the edge to make the sopes. Set aside.

Blend the tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, onion, chiles and add salt to taste. Pour the sauce over each sope, add cream, fresh cheese and a little onion. Let's eat!