The wonders of masa flour

About 6 months ago, Evan and I discovered the wonder that is masa flour (brand name Maseca). We sought it out originally because we wanted to make our own tortillas. They are so much more flavorful than store-bought corn tortillas, and cheaper to make. A 25 pound bag of Maseca costs just $6 at Safeway.

Anyway, as it turns out, Maseca can be used to make a plethora of South American classic recipes. We recently tried making sopes, and today we are making arepas. At some point, when we have time, we are going to try our hand at tamales (very labor intensive by the way, if you've ever seen a recipe).

I just love that we can make delicious, homemade meals that are gluten free. Here the recipe for sopes that we've been using. They are much thicker than tortillas, and so are quite filling. They make for an inexpensive meal because you don't have to put much on them in the way of toppings simply because they are so filling.

Ingredients

3 cups masa harina (Maseca)

2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon salt

Oil for frying

Preparation:

Put the oil in the frying pan to begin heating it to the correct frying temperature.

Mix together, masa, water and salt until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add water by the tablespoon, until you get a smooth but not sticky consistency.

Make balls out of the dough. You can make different sizes based on what you're using them for. For example, 1-inch balls are good for making appetizers, where 3-inch balls are great for dinner.

Flatten these out so they are about 1/4 inch thick. Pinch up the sides to make a sort of shallow bowl out of the dough.

Put these in the frying pan. Fry both sides until they are golden brown.