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

These were a big hit with everyone. A little labour-intensive, but not too bad. I found the shells a little tricky to fill completely without breaking. The good news is that they're just as delicious with the filling piled on top as stuffed inside.

Gorditas

From Cook's Country August/September 2019

Ingredients

Filling

• 450g lean ground beef
• 1 russet (or other floury) potato, cut into 0.5cm pieces
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin, ground
• 2 tsp. flour
• 3/4 c. water

Dough

• 5 c. masa harina
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 1/2 c. water (room temperature)
• 3/4 c. grated Colby Jack or Cheddar cheese
• corn oil, for frying

Toppings (optional)

• shredded lettuce
• diced tomatoes
• hot sauce
• guacamole
• extra cheese
• ketchup
• salsa
• sour cream

Directions

Filling

1. Combine beef, potato, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-high heat for ~8 minutes.
2. Add onion and tomato and cook another 5 minutes or so.
3. Add garlic and cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute more.
5. Stir in water and bring to a boil.
6. Cook for another minute.
7. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Remove from heat and set aside.

Dough

1. Combine masa harina with salt.
2. Add room temperature water and cheese and knead until fully combined. (Dough should be about the same consistency as Play-Doh.)
3. Roll a 1/2 c. portion of dough into a ball.
4. Place ball between two pieces of plastic wrap (or inside a Ziploc bag that's been cut open at the sides).
5. Use a pie plate or similar flat-bottomed dish to press the ball into a 10cm round.
6. At this point you can either hand the disc of dough off to someone else to fry while you shape the next disc (assembly line style) or you can transfer the disc to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and covered with a damp dish towel to await frying.

Assembly

1. Pour oil to a depth of ~2cm in a pan or dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat (to ~190°C/375°F).
2. Fry dough rounds until golden brown on both sides (~5 minutes per side).
3. Transfer fried discs to a wire rack to drain. Let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, reheat filling.
5. Using a paring knife, split each round ~halfway horizontally, forming a pocket.
6. Stuff each round with ~1/3 c. of filling and top as desired.

Migas

This recipe is listed as a breakfast (as scrambled egg dishes tend to be), and I think it would be fine as one, but it's also substantial enough to serve as lunch.

symbol's notes: half a cup of frozen corn added as the onions and peppers are cooking would be tasty. Also, 30mL jalapenos are not enough; it needs at least twice that.

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• salt and pepper
• canola oil
• 6 15cm corn tortillas, cut into 1x2cm strips
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
• 30mL minced jarred jalapeños
• ~100mL grated cheddar cheese
• ~15mL chopped fresh cilantro
• salsa for serving

Procedure

1. Whisk eggs, 1mL salt, and 1mL pepper together in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas and 1mL salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 4-6 minutes.
3. Add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeños and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 5-7 minutes.
4. Add eggs and, using heat-resistant spatula, constantly and firmly scrape along the bottom of the skillet until eggs begin to clump, 30-60 seconds.
5. Reduce heat to low and gently but constantly fold egg mixture until clumped and still slightly wet, 30-60 seconds.
6. Remove from heat and fold in cheese and cilantro.
7. Serve with salsa and extra cheese to taste.