These were delicious! Not particularly healthy, but definitely delicious. I thought they'd be bland without the sauce, but they're still amazing even on their own. The sauce just takes them to the next level. We had our sopaipillas with calabacitas. I feel like they probably could've used another vegetable side as well, but this dinner already had enough moving parts as it was. Maybe some sort of simple garden salad next time?

Sopaipillas, as it turns out, can take on many different forms. Sometimes they're made entirely with masa harina; sometimes wheat flour is added. Sometimes they're stuffed; sometimes they're not. They may be flat or puffy. And they can run the gamut from sweet to savoury; part of the main course or a sweet treat for dessert. Based on a quick internet search, the sweet varieties seem to be more widespread than the savoury ones. So the "default" sopaipilla (as much as there can be said to be a default) might be something along the lines of a corn-based doughnut/fry-bread possibly coated in sugar and/or served with honey. These stuffed, savoury sopaipillas seem to be somewhat less common. Which is a shame because they are wonderful!

Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas with Green Chile Sauce

From Cook's Country October/November 2019

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. lard
• 14 Tbsp. water

Refried Beans

• 1/4 c. lard
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 c. cooked pinto beans
• 1 c. chicken broth

Green Chile Sauce

• 900g fresh Anaheim chiles
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile
• 2 Tbsp. lard
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. flour (hard or soft is fine)
• 1 c. chicken broth

Assembly

• ~2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• oil for frying

Directions

Dough

1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well.
2. Cut lard into flour.
3. Stir in water.
4. Turn out dough and knead a little (1-2 dozen strokes).
5. Divide into 8 equal portions, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes¹.

Refried Beans

1. Melt lard over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
3. Add beans and broth.
4. Mash beans with potato masher and cook until thickened (~8 minutes).
5. Season to taste and set aside to cool.

Green Chile Sauce

1. Adjust oven rack to ~15cm (6") from broiler element and preheat broiler.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Place whole chiles (Anaheims and jalapeño) in single layer on prepared sheet.
4. Broil until blackened all over, turning every 4-5 minutes so that all sides get charred.
5. Remove from oven and quickly wrap chiles and foil to trap steam. Set aside for ~10 minutes.
6. Unwrap chiles and remove skins.
7. Stem and seed Anaheims.
8. Stem (but do not seed) jalapeño.
9. Chop all chiles into half cm (~1/4") pieces.
10. Melt lard over medium heat.
11. Add onion and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
12. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
13. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
14. Stir in broth and chiles and bring to a simmer.
15. Simmer until thickened (~6 minutes).
16. Season to taste, cover, and set aside.

Assembly

1. Retrieve dough balls from fridge and keep all but the one you're currently working with covered with a damp tea towel.
2. Working with one dough ball at a time, roll into an 18cm (~7") circle on a floured surface.
3. Squeeze ~1/4 of Cheddar to form a slight oblong shape (vaguely like an American football or rugby ball).
4. Place your cheesy ovoid in the centre of the dough round and top it with ~1/4 c. of refried beans.
5. Fold the dough round in half to create a semi-circle/half moon shape.
6. Press around edges to seal.
7. Moisten the top of the sealed edge with a bit of water and pinch the dough diagonally up and over the sealed edge to seal again and create a decorative rope-like border.
8. Repeat with remaining dough and fillings. (You may have some beans left over.)
9. Use a paring knife to poke a 1cm (~1/2") hole in the top of each sopaipilla².
10. Line a baking sheet with paper towels (preferably a double or triple layer).
11. Heat frying oil to 190°C (375°F). Oil should be ~4cm (1.5") deep.
12. Add 2-4 sopaipillas at a time to the oil (depending on the size of your fryer/Dutche oven) and fry until golden brown (~3-4 minutes per side).
13. Transfer fried sopaipillas to prepared baking sheet.
14. Reheat green chile sauce over medium-high heat.
15. Serve sopaipillas smothered in chile sauce and accompanied by vegetable side(s) of your choice.

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Variations

Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
• 14 Tbsp. water

Refried Beans

• 1/4 c. vegetable shortening
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 c. cooked pinto beans
• 1 c. vegetable broth

Green Chile Sauce

• 900g fresh Anaheim chiles
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. flour (hard or soft is fine)
• 1 c. vegetable broth

Assembly

• ~2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• oil for frying

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¹ If you want to make ahead, dough will keep in fridge for up to 2 days. ^Back
2 Assembled but uncooked sopaipillas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. ^Back