Sopes Estilo Patzcuaro

Michoacan, Lake Patzcuaro, the P'urhepecha country around the Japunda, that is where these sopes live. Not in a generic Mexican snack basket. In the mercados of Patzcuaro and the kitchens of Uruapan, the Meseta, and the lakeside towns, where masa nixtamalizada is not decoration. It is the center of the meal.

The masa has to be fresh if you can get it. Masa harina works only when the market has failed you. The sope is pressed thick, cooked on a comal de barro or a heavy comal until the surface freckles, then pinched while hot so the rim can hold frijol refrito, queso ranchero, crema, and salsa de chile peron. Chile peron, chile manzano in some markets, is the one with black seeds. Remember that. It gives a bright, sharp heat that belongs to this highland table.

I have watched cocineras tradicionales near Patzcuaro shape masa with the same practical intelligence they use for corunda, uchepo, jahuacata, tsikanarhikata, nacatamal, chapatta, toquera, and the dishes outsiders forget because they never leave the plaza. Each one has its own masa, wrapper, occasion, and name. Do not flatten them. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and inside Michoacan, cada pueblo, su propia mano.

La manteca es el sabor. A spoonful in the beans and a little on the hot sope is not excess, it is structure. Add charales if you have them, those small lake fish, Chirostoma jordani and its relatives, crisped and eaten with lime. If you cannot find them, you have made a good sope. If you can, you have made one that smells like Patzcuaro market. Asi se hace y punto.