Sopes

Name: Sopes
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Masa harina; Tinned black beans; Chicken breast; Fat-free Greek yoghurt; Queso fresco; Iceberg lettuce; Onion; Fresh coriander

369 kcal a serving, against 409 for the traditional version. That is 40 kcal off, or 10%, with 26.9g of protein. Serves 6. 45 minutes.

What the traditional version is

Thick patties of masa harina, pinched at the edges to form a raised border. Deeply fried in melted lard until golden and crisp. Slathered with heavy refried beans, drenched in rich soured cream, and heavily scattered with queso fresco and shredded iceberg lettuce.

What changed, and what each change costs

36g of absorbed lard swapped for absolutely nothing

Frying the masa boats in hot lard adds a massive amount of fat. Dry-cooking them in a hot frying pan sets the dough perfectly well while stripping out hundreds of calories.

What it costs you. The base won't be as crisp or as crumbly. Without the fat penetrating the dough, the dry-cooked masa is noticeably chewier and denser. It's the first compromise you'll encounter, and you simply have to chew a bit harder.

150g of soured cream swapped for 100g of fat-free Greek yoghurt

Soured cream is mostly fat. Fat-free Greek yoghurt gives you the exact same sharp, acidic tang to cut through the earthy beans, but it costs a fraction of the energy.

What it costs you. Yoghurt lacks the melting, luxurious mouthfeel of real Mexican crema. It sits heavily on top of the food rather than melting into the beans.

Zero meat swapped for 400g of skinless chicken breast

Traditional sopes often rely on beans and cheese for their substance. Adding lean poached chicken breast drastically shifts the balance of the plate, bringing in a massive amount of lean tissue-building fuel.

What it costs you. You've got extra work to do. Poaching and shredding chicken takes time, and it changes the dish from a simple street snack into a heavier, sit-down meal.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Masa harina
Tinned black beans
Chicken breast
Fat-free Greek yoghurt
Queso fresco
Iceberg lettuce
Onion
Fresh coriander

How it starts

Mix the masa harina with 250g of warm water and a heavy pinch of salt.
Press each ball flat until it is about 1 centimetre thick.
Take them out of the pan.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Mexican.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	409	369
Protein	12.3g	26.9g
Fat	17.9g	6.4g
Saturated fat	8.1g	2.2g
Carbohydrate	51.6g	51.6g
Protein per 100 kcal	3g	7.3g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Mexican prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. milk.

The method is in the book

This plate does exactly what I want it to do. Call it a solid, sharp meal that won't leave you feeling sluggish rather than a greasy late-night snack and you'll be about right. You're trading the beautiful, crumbling texture of fried masa for a chewier base, but the acidic punch of the yoghurt and the heavy portion of chicken make it entirely worthwhile. You've still got the crunch of the lettuce and the earthy hit of the beans.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback