Instant Masa and Sopes

I have been tempted to buy that bag of masa every time I've passed it in the little ethnic markets around town, always thinking, "I could make my own tortillas! How hard could it be?" but never having the courage to just buy it, until recently. Even the bag of instant masa that I finally bought sat in my pantry for a month before this past weekend. Finally, my cooking group decided to have a mexican theme and I took out my Maseca. I cannot believe it took me so long. The only thing that needs to be added to instant masa is water! Really, just add water, and you are on your way to any number of homemade mexican goodies. In this case, I was making sopes, or little masa boats, as they are called by Rick Bayless. These little guys are great and super easy to make. They can be filled with any concoction your heart desires, which makes them completely versatile. The usual recommendation is to cook them in lard, however I have tried cooking them in both lard and vegetable oil and found them to taste the same either way. For that reason, I recommend that you use vegetable oil. I added a little liquid smoke to the dough (1/2 t) the first time I made them in an attempt to capture some of the flavor of bacon drippings without actually having to use them. I used a very simple topping for mine, but you could top with beans, meat, guacamole, whatever you like!

2 c instant corn masa flour
1 1/4 c water
1/4 t salt
Vegetable oil for frying

For the filling:
1 jar fire-roasted salsa
1 1/2 c quesadilla or other melting cheese, sliced into small pieces
1 c red onion, chopped
a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
the juice of two limes
salt to taste

Make the onion-cilantro relish: Combine the red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt to taste. (I used about 1/2 t, because I like it pretty salty)

Make the sopes: Warm an iron skillet over medium high heat. Mix together the masa and the water until combined. The dough should feel a little like soft cookie dough. Roll into about 20 balls. Take one ball and flatten it by throwing it from one hand to another quickly so it does not stick to your hand.* Place the little tortilla in the skillet and cook until ightly browned on both sides, a couple to three minutes. Once you can handle the heat, press your fingers into the edges of the tortillas to mold them into little boats. Form an edge by pinching up the edges until the rim is high enough to hold your topping. Do this while the tortillas are still warm, or else they will be very difficult to form. You can stop at this step and finish them right before serving. Once you have cooked and formed all of your little tortillas, pour about 2 T veg oil into the skillet. Place three or so tortillas into the skillet, as many as can fit comfortably, and top with a slice of cheese and a little salsa. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and the salsa is bubbling. Remove from the heat and top with the cilantro-onion relish. You may have to add more vegetable oil as you cook the sopes...if the pan is too dry, add another couple of tablespoons and heat, then go on with your cooking. Enjoy as soon as possible!

*For this step, you could also use a tortilla press lined with plastic wrap, but I do not have a tortilla press (yet) and found this method fairly simple. Also, if you make a mistake and tear your little round, you can just reform it, as no gluten will form to toughen your dough like when you use wheat flour.

Comments

[suzi]

If you add baking powder to the masa they become much flakier and crunchy on the exterior.