My darn grocery store stopped carrying Masa Harina, so this was a dicy recipe to go with today. I went with the internet's suggestion for a replacement, but then I doubled down on crazy by trying a CauliPower baking mix instead of all-purpose flour. It was only $5 and I figured why not?
I'll tell you why not: this masa harina replacement cracks pretty easily, so the sopes look more like fried dough than cups. The good news is it was still pretty darn delicious.
It is definitely a time consuming recipe, but I gave myself the day off, so why not use the free time to try something complicated and prep for tomorrow's dinner while I'm at it. Also, finally getting some laundry done... Not a bad day.
Simplified an Herbivoracious Recipe with some ingredient substitution| Makes: 8 sopes | Time: ~ 1 hr or so
Ingredients
The Filling (make ahead of time, or be sure to start your sopes first, since the dough needs 30 min to set.)
4 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 ripe #plantain cut into 1/4″ cubes
Salt
1 medium #zucchini cut into 1/4″ cubes
1/2 medium onion, diced
Sopes
1/2 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup CauliPower brand flour (it was on sale today, figured I try it)
Splash of lime
1 scant cup hot water
An addition 1/4 cup CauliPower brand flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Vegetable oil for frying
To Serve
Cilantro leaves
#Avocado crema for serving
1 cup fire roasted salsa
Instructions
The Filling
Put half of the vegetable oil a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the plantains and big pinch of salt. Cook, turning occasionally, until tender and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the zucchini and then the onion (which will take less time), adding more of the oil as needed.
Mix together all of the filling ingredients. Set aside.
Sopes
Combine the corn meal, flour and hot water in a bowl and knead with your hands until it reaches the texture of playdough. Cover, and let stand 30 minutes.
Mix the the vegetable oil, additional flour, salt and baking soda into the sope dough. Preheat a comal or griddle to medium high. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, roll into balls (which should be about 1 1/4 inches in diameter) and cover with plastic wrap.
Using a lined tortilla press or your hands, press one ball out to about a 3 1/2 inch round, which will be about 1/4″ thick. Bake on the griddle for 10 seconds on each side and remove. Allow to cool for a few seconds, until you can touch it comfortably. Use your fingers to pull dough from the middle out to form walls around the perimeter, about 1/4″ thick and 1/2 inch high. Return to the griddle for one minute, on the flat side only, and then set aside, covered, until ready to fry.
When you are ready to finish the dish, reheat the filling. Heat a large skillet with 3/4″ of vegetable oil over a medium-high to high flame. When it is hot enough to sizzle if a scrap of dough is added, fry the sopes, wall side down, for about 45 seconds to a minute, until they are golden brown in spots and crispy. Drain on paper towels.
Plate the dish
Put sopes flat side down on your plates. Scoop filling onto each sope. Spoon salsa on top. Then drizzle some avocado crema on top of that. Dig in!
What I ate and drank today
7 (probably 9 by the time I go to bed) glasses of water
Egg and cheese wrap
6 dates
1 orange
4 Sopes
Exercise
I totally forgot to wear my FitBit today, but based off of similar days, I'm confident I hit 10,000 steps.