Prepping for Cinco de Mayo - Sopes #Recipe

Searching for a nice Cinco de Mayo meal for my family I decided on sopes. We always do burritos, tacos, nachos, etc... I wanted something different.

Well, different, but not too time-consuming! In my previous posts I showed you how to make a fabulous and simple lime refried beans from scratch and I also showed you a simple queso fresco. Now I bet you would like to know what I used them for. Here are our sopes!

These little corn bowls are filled with refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, avocado, salsa and cheese. Yum!

No harder than making a regular corn tortilla, they are perfect for adding a little extra fun to your festivities. You could even make them appetizer size to feed a crowd.

Sopes

You Will Need:
3 c. Masa (Corn Masa Flour)
3 c. hot water
oil for the pan

toppings:
refried beans
lettuce, shredded
tomatoes, sliced
avocado, sliced
olives, sliced
salsa
queso fresco
sour cream

Put 3 c. of masa flour into a large bowl. Gradually work in the hot water as needed to form  a ball of dough. I like to get in and use my hands to really get it worked in. Knead till you have an elastic ball. Divide into 6 balls for individual sopes, or smaller for appetizer sized. Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough rest.

In a large skillet put a small amount of canola oil. Heat the pan to medium-high heat. I prefer to cook my tortillas in a cast iron skillet because it takes less oil to prevent sticking, but a regular skillet will also work.

Form one ball into a small sope shape. Slightly flattened but with raised edges to hold in the filling. Place this into the heated pan. I like to work with two sets of tongs or cooking chopsticks to get all the sides cooked. The dough will become slightly golden, but turn down the heat if it burns quickly.

Placed cooked sope shells on a paper towel to cool and drain.

When cooled, top with desired toppings and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Check out some of my other festive recipes for more Cinco de Mayo dinner inspiration:
DIY Tortillas
Corn-tastic Tortillas
Tres Leches Cake