Corn Flour Patties Sopes Food

CORN FRITTER PATTIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the pancake mix, egg and milk just until moistened. Stir in the corn. , In a cast-iron or electric skillet, heat 1/4 in. oil to 375°. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls into oil; press lightly to flatten. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.

SOPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and line a baking sheet with paper towels.
• Put the masa harina in a large bowl, pour in the water and get in there with your hands, kneading until you have a uniform dough. It should take only a minute or two. You want a nice, moist dough, so work in a little more warm water if it's dry. If it's sticky, work in a little more masa harina.
• Break the dough into four equal pieces and roll each one into a ball. Put the balls on a plate or cutting board and cover them with plastic wrap to keep the dough from drying out. One at a time, roll them out with a rolling pin or clean wine bottle until they're a thin circle about 1/4-inch thick. Brush a little of the vegetable oil on a skillet or comal and heat it over medium-high heat until it's good and hot. Carefully add the first sope and cook it until little brown blisters appear on the bottom, about 45 seconds. Flip it over with a spatula and cook for another 30 to 45 seconds. Flip it over again, count to 10 and transfer to the towel-lined baking sheet. Keep it warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining 3 sopes (adding a little more oil if you need to), and keep them in the oven until you're ready to serve them.
• Pour a couple of tablespoons of the oil into a skillet and add the chile, garlic and onions. Set the skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the huitlacoche (or mushrooms) along with a good pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the huitlacoche is heated through, about 5 minutes (or until the mushrooms are a little browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes). Take the mixture off the heat and stir in the cilantro.
• Arrange your sopes on a platter. Cover with a thin layer of Roasted Tomato-Chile de Arbol Salsa, the huitlacoche or mushrooms, a drizzle of the crema fresca and a sprinkle of queso fresco. Serve the remaining salsa on the side.
• Preheat the boiler.
• Put the tomatoes on a baking sheet and broil until the tomatoes are nice and charred, 10 to 12 minutes. Take the tomatoes out, let them cool just until you can handle them, slip off the skins and cut out the tough cores. Transfer the tomatoes to a big bowl (don't you dare forget the tomato juice that has leaked out and reduced to awesomeness on the baking sheet), and then roughly chop them.
• While the tomatoes are broiling, heat a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the chiles (in batches, if necessary), flipping them over occasionally, until they just begin to smoke, about 5 minutes. Set them aside in a bowl.
• Put the olive oil, garlic and onions in a saucepan, set it over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, about 7 minutes. Add the toasted chiles, tomatoes and 2 cups water, bring to a simmer and cook for another 12 minutes, so the flavors come together. Let it cool a bit.
• Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender. Add the cilantro, salt and pepper and puree until the mixture is very smooth. Pour the mixture through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Store the salsa in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to a week, or in the freezer for a month.

MEXICAN CORN CAKES

Steps:

• Whisk together masa harina, flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in cheese and corn kernels. Add water, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until mixture holds together.
• Heat 1/4 cup oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot but not smoking, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, scoop a heaping 1/3 cup mixture, and use your hands to shape into a patty, about 1/3 inch thick. Repeat with remaining mixture, forming 8 patties.
• Working in batches of 4, fry patties, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. If pan becomes dry, add 2 tablespoons oil for second batch. Cover patties with foil to keep warm, up to 30 minutes.

CORN CAKES

Steps:

• Combine corn, onion, milk, with the beaten egg in a bowl.
• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
• Add corn mixture and mix just enough to moisten.
• Drop, by 1/4 cupfuls, onto a lightly greased griddle and fry until golden brown on both sides.

SOPES

Steps:

• Put the masa harina in a bowl and add the warm water, reserving about 1/4 cup of water until you see how much the flour will absorb. Work well with your hands until smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a cool spot for about 1 hour. This gives the starch particles time to swell and absorb the moisture thoroughly, giving more flexibility to the dough. Alternatively, make the Dried Corn Tortilla Masa (see recipe).
• Work the masa until very soft and smooth, and divide into 12 equal parts. Roll each into a ball about 1 1/4 inches in diameter and cover with a damp cloth while you work. Warm an ungreased comal over medium heat.
• Take 1 of the balls and press out gently in a lined tortilla press or by hand to a disk about 3 1/2 inches; it will be thicker than a tortilla, about 1/4-inch. Place carefully on the comal and cook over medium to low heat until the underside is opaque and speckled with brown, about 2 minutes. Turn the sope over and cook on the second side for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the comal and immediately (although you may burn your fingers a little) pinch up the dough around the periphery of the sope, return it to the comal, and cook briefly until the dough is firm and cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Continue with the rest of the balls.
• Heat a very small amount of the lard or oil in a skillet and let the sopes heat through for about 1/2 minute on each side. Spread with the bean paste and top liberally with the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately.
• Heat the lard in a heavy 10-inch skillet, add the onion and fry over medium heat without browning, until translucent, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the beans and their broth and continue cooking over fairly high heat, mashing them down to a paste texture, about 10 minutes.
• Melt the lard in a small skillet. Skin and crumble the chorizo into the pan, and cook over low heat until the fat has been rendered out. Add the potatoes and chile, if using, and continue cooking over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the skillet from time to time to avoid sticking, until well seasoned, about 8 minutes. Season with salt. Set aside to cool a little before using.
• Crush or blend the garlic, chiles and salt to a paste. Gradually add the tomatoes (unpeeled), grinding well after each addition. The sauce should be textured and the skin will never all completely disappear.
• Sprinkle the top with the onion and cilantro and serve.
• Chiles Asado:
• Place the whole chilies on an ungreased griddle over medium heat and turn them from time to time until the flesh is fairly soft; there will be brownish patches on the skin and the color will have faded somewhat. Then, if they are to be ground with other ingredients, chop roughly before blending. *
• Tomatoes Asados:
• The whole tomatoes are cooked on a ungreased comal or griddle until they are slightly charred and mushy to guarantee a specially delicious table or cooked sauce. About half the cooks I know then skin the tomatoes, while others, including me, blend them unskinned. While the appearance of the sauce may not be as attractive, the flavor and texture are incomparable. This method of cooking tomatoes is particularly recommended for freezing and storing for the months when tomatoes are not at their best (not a problem in Mexico).
• You may want to broil them in a more practical way. Choose a shallow pan in which the tomatoes will just fit in 1 layer, not too large or the juice that is exuded will dry up. (I used to line the pan with foil, but no longer. It is high time that we gradually ease foil out of the kitchen or use it very, very sparingly. The mining of bauxite for the production of aluminum has destroyed far too many tropical forests on this planet.) Place the pan about 2 inches below a heated broiler and broil until the top halves of the tomatoes are soft and the skin is blistered and slightly browned. Turn the tomatoes over and repeat on the other side. The exuded juice will be sweet and syrupy so save it to blend with the tomatoes.

CORN PATTIES

Steps:

• In a medium mixing bowl, mash the corn lightly.
• Add each of the remaining ingredients except for the oil, one at a time, mixing each one thoroughly with the batter.
• Heat oil over medium-high heat.
• Drop patties by spoonful into skillet.
• Allow to cook 5-10 minutes, turning once, or until golden brown on each side.
• (Do not turn over too early, or they will fall apart).
• Serve witha little salsa.

SOPES (CORN CAKES) WITH PORK FILLING

Steps:

• Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Add meat, epazote and seasonings; mix well. Cover. Cook 8 to 10 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream.
• Brush sopes evenly with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil. Cook on hot griddle for 2 min. on each side or until lightly browned on both sides.
• Top each sope with about 1/4 cup of the pork mixture. Serve immediately.

CORN-FLOUR PATTIES (SOPES)

Steps:

• Mix flours, baking powder, and salt, and add the warm water. You may need a little more warm water to make moist, smooth dough.
• Traditional sopes forming method: Make balls the size of a walnut, a few at a time, and keep the dough in a plastic bag to prevent it from drying out. Moisten a cloth napkin or tea towel and spread out on a flat surface. Roll each ball of dough in moistened palm of you hand until smooth, lay on the damp towel, cover with a plastic bag, and press down with your hand to flatten to the size of a silver dollar. To shape the patty, flatten again with a small can or flat-bottomed glass into a perfectly smooth circle 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter. It should be about 1/4-inch thick. Peel the plastic bag off the top, then lay the tortilla in your hand and peel off the damp cloth. Smooth any rough edges with your fingers and the tortilla is ready to fry.
• Quick sopes forming method: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out sopes. Re-roll unused dough.
• Heat a cast iron skillet and add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When hot, slide the patties into the hot oil and fry until they are a light golden brown and slightly crisp on top, about 1 minute on each side. Drain on paper towels and make a slit on the side as soon as they have cooled enough to handle. Fill with chorizo and potatoes filling. These do not keep well; they must be eaten immediately.
• Begin by cooking potatoes in a pot of water, when tender remove and set aside. In a large saute pan add a little oil. While shaking, add chorizo and cook for 4 minutes. When crispy, add garlic, onion, and all the peppers. Cook for 8 minutes. At that point, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 more minutes. Then add the potatoes, cilantro, and scallions; cook for 3 minutes more and season with salt and pepper to taste. Use for stuffing sopes.

SOPA SECA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or medium pot over medium-high heat until it ripples. Add the pasta and cook, stirring constantly, until the pasta is golden, about 3 minutes.
• Scoop out and discard 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the Roasted Tomato-Chile Arbol Salsa and cook for 2 minutes, stirring the whole time. Pour in the chicken stock and let the liquid come to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook, stirring once in a while, until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Divide the pasta between two bowls and garnish with the cilantro and cheese.