Sopes are a great Mexican appetizer that are the perfect vessel to carry all sorts of tasty meats and salsas. These are a great gluten-free option, and when topped with roasted vegetables can be incredibly healthy and easy to make. The Habanero can be intimidating to some but when used correctly can give you a wonderful floral fruity flavour with just a slight hint of heat, paired with some good old yellow mustard to carry that tropical flavour along.
Preheat oven to 400ºF. While the oven is warming, peel the sweet potato and cut it and the apple into bite-sized pieces. Add the remaining filling ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Spread the mixture on a baking tray and bake for about 25 minutes or until the apple and sweet potatoes start to brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, add the instant corn masa flour. You can find gluten-free instant masa in most super markets. Also add the sea salt and mustard powder to the flour. Slowly introduce the water 1/4 cup at a time to the flour. Use your other hand to mix the wet dough with a spoon. When all the water is added to the flour, mix the dough with your hands and kneed it. Make sure the dough is evenly mixed and smooth. Make 1.5 inch balls out of the dough. You should get about 11 to 12 balls.
Cut a Ziploc bag into two 6 inch squares, place a masa ball in-between the plastic. Using a heavy flat surface (I use a heavy flat bottom frying pan) press down on the masa ball flattening it until it is 1/4 inch thick. Keep the sopes covered with a kitchen towel.
Heat a skillet on high heat and place the pressed masa balls on it. Depending on your skillet size, you should be able to cook 4 to 6 of them at once. Lightly brown them on both sides. Remove one sopes at a time from the skillet and place it on a napkin. Raise the sides by gently pinching the edges creating a small bowl. Place the raised sopes in a baking dish and cover with a towel or lid to keep warm. Complete this step for all the other sopes.
Slice cabbage as thin as possible or shred in a food processor. In a blender combine habanero, yogurt, lime juice and zest with the salt and yellow mustard and blend until smooth. In a large bowl mix cabbage with habanero yogurt dressing and set aside.
Heat a frying pan and add about 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Shallow fry all the raised sopes in this oil. They should be browned on both sides but not burned. Use a paper napkin to soak up any extra oil on the sopes and place them back in the covered baking dish to keep warm.
Place the warm sopes on a plate and put 1 tablespoon of roasted sweet potato mix in each one. Top the sopes with some slaw. For a little something extra try some Queso Fresco or crushed pecans on top. Enjoy warm.
Jalapeno is a great substitute for the habanero if it is too spicy. Also add some crumbled spicy sausage if you are looking for a meat option.
Serving Size 1 Sope
Servings 0
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.