Hello and welcome to Mrs. Lady Renaissance. This weekend, I decided to make sopes, a treat my family enjoys. Keep reading for the delicious recipe (I am known to under salt my recipes because I’d rather less salt, but you can always add more):

Lentil Beans:

1 cup of green lentil beans

3 cups of chicken broth

1/2 tablespoons of salt

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup of chopped onion

Optional: I like to add cilantro to all of my beans because I feel it gives it a fresh taste, but this is optional. You can add a few chopped up leaves to infuse the beans.

Ground Turkey:

1 pkg of ground turkey

1 pressed garlic clove (I use one from the dollar store)

1/2 cup of chopped onion

1/4 tablespoon of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Red Habanero Chili Sauce:

2 Tomatoes

1 habanero chili

2 Guajillo dry chilis washed and seeded

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 garlic

1/4 cup of onion

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Lemon Cabbage:

2 cups of cabbage (purple or green or lettuce)

1/4 cup of lemon or lime juice (not required, but this is the only way my kids eat it and you can add a splash of olive oil to cut the sourness.)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Lemon Onion:

1/2 cup of onion

1/4 cup of lemon juice or lime juice (not required, but this is the only way my kids eat it)

Guacamole:

1 avocado

1 teaspoon of lemon or lime juice

1 small clove or garlic

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 tbs of onion

1 tbs of cilantro

Toppings and Ingredients:

Grated Cheese

Sour Cream

A pkg of sopes

Oil to fry the sopes

Steps:

1. First, put your pot of beans to boil. Make sure to place your broth and your lentils in a pot with the garlic, onion and salt. Follow package instructions.
2.  Add oil to a pan, set heat to medium heat and place your ground turkey in it. Begin cooking your ground turkey. After the ground turkey has cooked for a couple of minutes, add your pressed garlic, onion and salt. Then cook them together. Cook thoroughly.
3. While the beans and the turkey cook, begin making your chili sauce. This time, I cooked my tomatoes and habanero chili on a cast-iron skillet, but you can boil it, I do this often. Once ready, place in blender with garlic, onion, salt and pepper. The Guajillo Chilies need to be washed and the seeds need to be removed. I also like to boil these in warm water prior to blending them with the bunch. You don’t have to though as the tomatoes should be warm. Add 1/4 cup of water (even broth) and blend. Place in a separate dish and wash your blender quickly after as chili can penetrate a blender and smoothies and juices will taste like chili.
4. Now, make your guacamole. I use a molcajete, but you don’t have to. You can use a cup and a bowl to make guacamole. Simply press down on the ingredients with a strong, heavy glass like cup and cut the onion into small pieces and press the garlic. Here is my guacamole tutorial. This time, I decided to add garlic and cilantro. Place in a small bowl or leave it in the bowl you utilized to make the guacamole. It is customary to leave the big seed to prevent it from browning, although, honestly, it shouldn’t as it has lemon.
5. Julienne cabbage and place in a bowl with the lemon and salt. The lemon is just something I do because it is the only way my kids will eat the cabbage. It is optional. Place to the side.
6. Cut onion in either long round slices or small squares. Add the lemon and set aside. Once again, this is optional, my kids will only eat onion if it is submerged in lemon.
7. In a separate pan, add enough oil to submerge half of a sope. I used canola oil. Follow package instructions. I place my cooked sopes on a plate that has been lined with napkins to strain the oil.

The Assembly:

Once the food is fully cooked add your cooked beans (mine were not refried nor smashed, I left them whole), sprinkle the cheese of your choice, add the cooked turkey, add cheese (you don’t have to, but I love cheese, especially when it melts), add the cabbage, onion, guacamole, sour cream (you can always mix a little milk with sour cream to make is thinner or, even better, you can blend sour cream and cilantro with a bit of salt and a bit of milk to make a cilantro sauce) and chili sauce and, if you want, sprinkle more cheese. You can use that sprinkle parmesan cheese or queso fresco or any other cheese you desire.

Enjoy!