Cook_s_Country_-_October_2019

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 5

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Sopaipillas

These chile-drenched sopaipillas bring the heat

(along with the beans and cheese).

by Morgan Bolling and Bryan Roof

THE GOLDEN, STUFFED

sopaipillas at Mary & Tito’s Cafe

in Albuquerque, New Mexico (see

“Chile Dreams”) come smothered in a

lightly spicy, smoky green chile sauce

that coats every bite. We knew that

re-creating this local favorite at home

would be a project, so we aimed to keep

each element as simple as possible.

The stuffed sopaipillas at

Mary & Tito’s Cafe are made with

a flour tortilla dough that puffs and

browns when fried in oil. So we started

our own version with a tried-and-true

Cook’s Country recipe for flour tortillas.

Adding baking powder helped the

dough puff a bit when it hit the hot

oil, and while shortening made for a

fine and tender dough, lard gave the

sopaipillas a much better flavor (see

our lard tasting on page 31).

We also used lard to make a batch

of quick, savory refried beans—first

sautéing some onion in the flavorful

melted lard and then adding two cans of

drained pinto beans and mashing them

right in the skillet with a potato masher.

Before frying our sopaipillas in two

batches of four, we rolled portions of

the dough into modest 7-inch circles

and packed each with ¼ cup of beans

and ¼ cup of cheddar cheese before

folding them into half-moons. Sealing

the dough with water and twisting the

sealed edge kept the filling from oozing

out. A small steam hole poked on top

gave extra insurance against blowouts.

Recipes for green chile sauce vary

widely, but we wanted a smoky, spicy

version reminiscent of the one at Mary

& Tito’s. Instead of using hard-to-find

New Mexican chiles, we substituted a

combination of two widely available

chiles: Anaheim and jalapeño. Broil-

ing the chiles added smokiness while

intensifying their sweetness. Chopped

and cooked with aromatics, flour, and

savory chicken broth, they created a

flavorful, invigorating sauce.

We stuff our sopaipillas

with beans and cheese

and top them with

green chile sauce.

For more photos from our trip to

Albuquerque, visit CooksCountry.

com/newmexican19.

BEAN AND CHEESE SOPAIPILLAS

WITH GREEN CHILE SAUCE Serves 8

Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts

or more for this recipe. We developed

this recipe using John Morrell Snow

Cap Lard. You can substitute vegetable

shortening for the lard, if desired.

DOUGH

2¾ cups (13¾ ounces) all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons table salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons lard, cut into

½-inch pieces

REFRIED BEANS

4 tablespoons lard

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed

1 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon table salt

GREEN CHILE SAUCE

2 pounds Anaheim chiles

1 jalapeño chile

2 tablespoons lard

1 cup finely chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon table salt

8 ounces mild cheddar cheese,

shredded (2 cups)

2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil,

for frying

1. FOR THE DOUGH: Whisk flour,
   salt, and baking powder together in
   large bowl. Rub lard into flour mixture
   with your fingers until mixture re-
   sembles coarse meal. Stir in ¾ cup plus
   2 tablespoons water until combined.
   Turn out dough onto clean counter
   and knead briefly to form cohesive ball,
   6 to 8 turns. Divide dough into 8 equal
   portions, about 2¾ ounces each (scant
   ⅓ cup), then roll into balls. Transfer
   dough balls to plate, cover with plastic
   wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least
   30 minutes or up to 2 days.


2. FOR THE REFRIED BEANS:
   Heat lard in 12-inch skillet over medium

heat until shimmering. Add onion and

cook until softened, about 4 minutes.

Stir in beans, broth, and salt. Cook,

mashing beans with potato masher, until

finely mashed and mixture is thickened,

about 8 minutes. Season with salt to

taste. Set aside and let cool completely.

3. FOR THE GREEN CHILE
   SAUCE: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from
   broiler element and heat broiler. Line
   rimmed baking sheet with aluminum
   foil. Arrange Anaheims and jalapeño
   in single layer on prepared sheet. Broil
   until chiles are soft and mostly black-
   ened, about 5 minutes per side, rotating
   sheet halfway through broiling. Transfer
   chiles to bowl and cover with plastic; let
   cool for 10 minutes.


4. Remove skins from chiles with spoon.
   Stem and seed Anaheims, then chop
   into ¼-inch pieces. Stem (but do not
   seed) jalapeño; chop into ¼-inch pieces.


5. Heat lard in large saucepan over
   medium heat until shimmering. Add
   onion and cook until softened, about
   3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until
   fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour
   and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth,
   salt, Anaheims, and jalapeño and bring
   to simmer. Simmer until slightly thick-
   ened, about 6 minutes. Season with salt
   to taste; cover and set aside.


6. Keeping other dough balls covered
   with damp dish towel, roll 1 dough ball
   into 7-inch circle on lightly floured

counter. Lightly squeeze ¼ cup cheese

in your palm to form ball. Place cheese

in center of dough round, followed by

¼ cup refried beans. Moisten edges of

dough round with water. Fold dough

round in half, creating half-moon shape

to enclose filling, and press to seal.

7. Moisten top of sealed edge with water.
   Starting at 1 end, fold, slightly twist, and
   pinch dough diagonally across sealed
   edge between your thumb and index
   finger. Continue pinching and twisting
   dough around seam to create decorative
   rope edge. Transfer to parchment pa-
   per–lined baking sheet. Repeat with re-
   maining dough balls, cheese, and refried
   beans (reserve any remaining beans for
   another use). Using paring knife, poke
   ½-inch hole in center of each sopaipilla.
   (Filled sopaipillas can be covered and
   refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)


8. Line baking sheet with triple layer of
   paper towels. Add oil to large Dutch oven
   until it measures about 1½ inches deep
   and heat over medium-high heat to 375
   degrees. Add 4 sopaipillas to oil and fry
   until golden brown, about 3 minutes per
   side. Adjust burner as needed to main-
   tain oil temperature between 350 and
   375 degrees. Transfer fried sopaipillas to
   prepared sheet. Return oil to 375 degrees
   and repeat with remaining 4 sopaipillas.


9. Reheat green chile sauce over
   medium-high heat until hot. Serve
   sopaipillas topped with chile sauce.