Picadillo Sopes En Salsa Roja is a plant based fantasy! It’s exactly what every vegan and vegetarian Mexican food aficionado dreams about and I don’t say that lightly. Heck, even meat-eater would lose their yayas over them. So good, I can sing about my picadillo. The perfectly crisp fried sope is dipped in a homemade salsa roja, then filled with refried beans, plant-based picadillo con papas, and topped with queso fresco, and all the other condiments.
I hope you will make these special Picadillo Sopes En Salsa Roja the next time you want a delicious meal. I may have to make them again tomorrow the way my family scarfed them down.
Picadillo:
- 2 Anaheim chiles
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 medium sized potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- 1/2 cup onion (diced small)
- 1 tomato (cubed)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 16 oz. Plant-based ground
- 2 cups vegetable broth
Salsa Roja:
- 1 white onion
- 2.5 oz New Mexico Chile
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2.5 oz California Chile
- 2 Pasilla-Ancho Chiles
- Salt (to taste)
Sopes:
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- pre-made sopes (I used Northgate brand)
Toppings:
- refried beans
- queso fresco
- pickled onion
- radish
- crema
- chopped lettuce or cabbage
Directions:
- Let’s make salsa roja! Boil onion, New Mexico chile, garlic, California chile, pasilla-ancho chiles, and salt until chiles soften about 35 minutes.
- Remove chiles from water and discard stem and (optional seeds).
- Place all chile skins, onion, garlic, and 3 cups of boiled chile water to blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour chile sauce mixture through a sieve and into a bowl. Press chile flesh against sieve to squeeze out all the liquid. Discard any seeds and skin collected in sieve. Place to the side until ready to use.
Picadillo:
- Char Anaheim chiles on an open flame until completely charred then place an airtight ziplock to steam.
- Remove Anaheim chiles from bag and peel with the back of a butter knife to remove any charred skin. Cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Set to the side.
- Boil potato cubes for 10 minutes to make slightly fork tender, then drain.
- In a large frying pan over a medium heat add oil and allow to get hot. Add in drained potato cubes and season to your liking. Fry until golden crisp all around. About 15 minutes.
- Add in onion, tomato cubes, and chopped Anaheim chiles. Allow to sauté for 5 minutes.
- Cook plant-based ground in a different pan with a splash of oil. Break it up with the back of the spatula to crumble, then add in garlic and continue cooking. Cook as directed on package (about 5 to 8 minutes)
- Pour the crumbled plant based ground to the potato mixture. Mix to combine.
- Pour in vegetable broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Set to the side.
Sopes:
- Heat a cup of oil in a pan over a medium high heat.
- In another pan heat over a low flame heat two cups of salsa roja.
- Place a few sopes in the vegetable oil and fry on each side until crisp.
- Then remove from oil and dip directly into the salsa roja. Shake off excess sauce and place on a plate to assemble.
Assemble:
- Fill your salsa roja drenched sope with refried beans, vegan picadillo, pickled onions, avocado, (optional) queso fresco. It’s all so yummy!
Still craving alta-baja Mexican food? Try my Cauliflower Mojo De Ajo!