How to Make Sopes and Memelas and Pile On the Delicious Toppings

When my sister and I were growing up in Mexico, the school bus would drop us at home at 3 p.m., just in time for the most important meal of the day: lunch. As we climbed off the bus and walked up to the house, we’d get giddy with anticipation, wondering what our family had made for us. There was always soup, rice, black beans, a salad, two salsas, and at least one main dish. My sister, my brother, and I each had our favorites, but a main dish of sopes was always cause for excitement.

Sopes are rounds of griddled masa that are thicker than tortillas and have a little rim around the edge to hold fillings inside. They aren’t just delicious—they’re an introduction to an entire category of antojitos. The word antojito comes from the word antojo—“craving.” These particular “little cravings” certainly live up to their name. You can eat one as a snack or make an entire meal out of them.

In my house, sopes were always filled with refried black beans, pulled chicken, chopped romaine lettuce, crema, crumbled fresh cheese, and then one or two salsas and guacamole or avocado to top. But sopes are made to be customized, so you can make yours as simple or complex as you like. A bit of salsa or some beans is all you need to start.

The nostalgia factor is definitely one of the reasons why I love these antojitos so much, but there is also something that’s just so perfect about sopes. They are thick enough to hold a grab bag of toppings, yet not so thick that you can’t eat many at once, and the little rims help keep everything contained in one delightfully messy adventure. Each bite offers so many varied textures, with the lettuce and salsa cutting the richness of all the other components.

In Veracruz, you can find picadas, which are similar to sopes but usually fried with a little bit of vegetable oil or lard. These also don’t generally have quite so many fillings—they’re served with a bit of salsa, chopped raw white onion, and crumbled Cotija cheese or queso fresco. In Guerrero, a similar dish is called pellizcadas; in Puebla, there are chalupitas.

In Oaxaca, you find memelas, another antojito that’s similar to sopes. Their shape and masa base are practically the same. I must have been nine years old when I first tried them, thinking they were sopes. But after one bite, I was floored—and it wasn’t until I was much older that I realized why. There is a technique in Oaxaca called aciento, where you baste the leftover lard from cooking pork on something else. The aciento gave those memelas incredible depth, and they were smothered with a black bean spread and topped with a tomato salsa. Black beans in Oaxaca are often cooked with avocado leaf, which gives them a beautiful and distinctive anise-like herbal flavor. I’ve also seen memelas topped with cabbage or lettuce and sometimes a bit of thinly sliced and salted meat. More minimal versions may just have aciento, salsa, and crumbled cheese, or aciento and a mole topping.

Want to know how to make sopes or memelas? You must first put on some music that you love, because it will put you in the best mood—and I promise, that will transfer into every memela that you make. Then prepare your masa by mixing masa harina with a bit of water until you obtain a soft but not sticky dough. (Or use fresh masa.) Then pinch off a knob of dough and roll it into a three-inch ball, and press down with your palms to form a disk that is about five inches across and ¼-inch thick.

Griddle the disks on a comal or dry pan—or pan fry in a shallow layer of oil for picadas—flipping them until both sides have firmed up and are no longer raw. At this point, remove the disks from the heat and use your thumb and forefinger to pinch the edges of one side to create a raised rim. Spoon on whatever cooked toppings you’re using, like aciento and refried beans, as well as any salsas, then put the sopes back on the heat and cook them until their bottoms are a bit crispy. If you’re using cheese, add it now so that it has a chance to warm a little. Lettuce, tomatoes, and other raw toppings can be added after the sopes are cooked.

You could also make the sopes ahead of time without any toppings, then top and reheat in the toaster oven when it’s time to serve. If you wrap the cooked sopes in a kitchen towel and seal them in a zip-top bag, you can keep them in the fridge for two or three days.

Whatever version of these little masa boats you try, they’ll surely become household favorites. You may want to consider prepping more than you think you’ll need; once they’re piled high with toppings, you won’t want to stop eating them.

Memelas

Originally Appeared on Epicurious