Sopes

Sopes

Sopes with red salsa
Alternative names	Pellizcadas, Garnacha
Type	Antojito
Place of origin	Mexico
Region or state	Culiacán
Main ingredients	Corn Flour (Masa), vegetables, meat, refried beans, cheese, lettuce, onions, red or green sauce (salsa)

A sope (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈso.pe.]), also known as picaditas (in Tierra Caliente, Guerrerro) is a traditional Mexican dish originating in the central and southern parts of Mexico, where it was sometimes first known as pellizcadas. It is an antojito which at first sight looks like an unusually thick tortilla with vegetables and meat toppings. The base is made from a circle of fried masa (ground maize soaked in lime, also used as the basis for tamales and tortillas) with pinched sides. This is then topped with refried black beans and crumbled cheese, lettuce, onions, red or green sauce (salsa, made with chiles or tomatillos respectively), and sour cream. Sometimes other ingredients (mostly meat) are also added to create different tastes and styles of sopes. Sopes are roughly the size of a fist.

The sope has spread throughout all Mexico's territory, and there are now thousands of regional variants.

While the pinched sides of the sope are its most distinctive characteristic, there are also flat sopes resembling a thick tortilla or a tostada. However, though both tostadas and sopes are fried, the tostada is thin and fried until it becomes crunchy and fragile, while the sope is much thicker and fried only until the exterior surface is cooked. The sope therefore has a soft, slightly pliable texture. The sope's thickness is meant to support its toppings, and the frying of its exterior surface adds resistance to the moisture of the ingredients.