Sopes: A Step By Step Process

By Melissa Pitts and Abigail Garcia

Sopes are like raised tortilla patties filled with basically whatever you please. Because they be can stuffed with your choice of filling, they please vegetarians and meat eaters alike. We did not fry these sopes but you can certainly heat some oil in the pan to make them a little crispier. They take hardly any effort but look like it took you all day! They are perfect as appetizers or as a main dish served with some salad.

I had never made sopes and had only eaten them on several occasions but now I’m hooked. Abigail walked me through the process and for those who may be a little intimidated to make them- don’t worry! I got you covered and took step by step pictures (thanks Abi for being such a great hand model!)- so set your fears aside and give them a shot!

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Yields 10 sopes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups masa (recommended: Maseca)

• 1 ¼ cup warm water

• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. With your hands, mix the masa, salt and water together into a smooth consistency for about 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Make 1 ½ inch balls with the masa, flatten them out to 4 inches in diameter and ¼ inch thick.
3. Heat a cast iron pan (or a nonstick pan) to medium high heat. Place 3 masa patties on pan without any oil, brown on both sides, approximately 1 minute on each side (until they just start to blister). Remove from the pan.
4. Working on the side that was heated first, pinch the edges of the patty up (this part can be painful as the masa is still hot! But no pain no gain, right?). Then, pinch another small circle inside the patty–this will help prevent the sope from collapsing in once you stuff them-and because Abigail said so.
5. Stuff the sope with whatever you want! We chose to stuff with chorizo that was cooked with tomato and onion and topped with goat cheese, a store bought rotisserie chicken, and meatballs. The most classic way is to first layer the sope with refried beans, add a layer of chicken or beef, top with guacamole, lettuce and some crema–there are endless ways to top sopes!
6. We had lots of good stuff for our sopes!
7. Once you’ve stuffed the sopes, put them back on the pan, heat on medium low heat for another minute and serve.
8. There you have it- BEAUTIFUL sopes!

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