Vegan Mexican Antojitos: Plantain Sopes Recipe

There’s always time for Mexican food, not to mention these irresistible plantain sopes! Sopes are a type of antojitos, typical post-meal snacks commonly sold at Mexican food markets. Fried tortilla shells with customizable toppings, these bite-sized fried treats date back to pre-Hispanic times and are still popular today. It has become one of Mexico's favorite garnachas today. Eager to try some? Check out this easy and delicious vegan sopes recipe.

• Serves: 10-12 sopes
• Cooking time: 1 hour and a half

Ingredients

For the Tortillas

• 3 ripe plantains/cooking bananas
• 1 cup wheat flour or oat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

For the Filling

• 250g chopped mushrooms
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup cooked black beans
• 1 serrano pepper, chopped (You can use jalapeños, green chili or green capsicum for a non-spicy version)
• 1 sprig of fresh epazote / 2 teaspoons of dehydrated epazote (You can replace it with coriander or parsley)
• Flavorless oil (Sunflower, canola or corn oil)

Method

1. In a pot, soak and heat unpeeled plantains with water over medium heat, and boil for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. Peel and transfer into a large bowl. Mash finely using a fork until there are only small chunks remaining. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold and incorporate all the ingredients thoroughly until you get a homogeneous and smooth dough. Cover with a dry cloth and let sit for about 10 min.

3. Separate the dough into 10 to 12 equal portions. Shape into balls and flatten them until they are about 5 mm thick, creating a flat dough.

4. Place a skillet over the stove and add enough oil to spread on the surface. Heat up the oil for 1 minute. Then transfer the flattened dough to the pan. Flip every 2 minutes until the dough turns light brown.

5. Transfer to oil-absorbing paper on a plate to remove excess oil. Cool for 1 minute. Shape the fried dough into a shallow bowl by pinching the edges.

6. (For the filling) In a heated oiled pan, add the chopped onion, garlic, and chili. Cook until they start browning and add the mushrooms and salt to taste. When mushrooms soften, add in the black beans. Then, add chopped epazote (coriander or parsley) to the mixture. Stir and cook on low heat for 10 more minutes.

7. Assemble the sopes on a plate and cover them with the filling. You may choose to add a savory sauce for an extra kick(I used chipotle sauce!). Enjoy this delicious rendition of antojitos Mexicanos!