Second Breakfast

My husband has been raving about this, another Epicurious suggestion with some of my modifications. The sopes shells (the Epicurious recipe calls them gorditas but at least one commenter complained the the name was inappropriate) are a little bit of work at first, but very tasty and worth the extra little bit of effort.

You can serve these shells with anything you wanted in them. This is my suggestion.

Items

Sopas

• 1 14oz can creamed corn.
• 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp softened butter
• 1 cup Jack cheese

Filling

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• few dashes of hot sauce (Cholula brand is my favorite)
• juice of 1/2 lime
• salt and freshy-ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups of meat pulled from a store-roasted whole chicken
• chopped cilantro and scallions
• more Jack cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine the corn, salt, and broth in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cornmeal and cook for a minute or two to combine until the liquid is absorbed (this happened immediately for me so I’ve adjusted the amount a bit above).
3. Remove from the heat and add the butter and cheese, stirring to incorporate.
4. Grease two 6-cup muffin tins and divide the mixture between them, pressing it into the bottom and up the side to make thin shells. You probably won’t get a full dozen but I’ve adjusted the amounts slightly above.
5. Bake until crisp, 25 minutes. Let cool for five minutes.
6. While the sopas are cooking, heat a couple of Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened for five minutes.
7. Add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring so the garlic does not burn. Now add the black beans and cook another 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
8. Add the cumin and hot sauce. Using a potato masher mash up some of the beans gently in the pan.
9. Add the chicken meat and lime juice. Adjust the seasoning, and cook over medium heat a couple more minutes until heated through. Do not overcook the chicken.
10. Serve the chicken and bean mixture in the sopas shells, topped with cilantro, scallions, and some of the cheese.

Serves 4.

This is based off of a recipe that Alan found on Epicurious, but with my inevitable modifications. The addition of polenta to the chicken breading makes it very crispy, and pounding them thin allows you to cook them quickly enough to get them tender but not overcooked. I adjusted the proportions in the sauce from the original recipe to make it a bit more balanced for my tastes. My husband gave this two thumbs up.

Items

• 1.5lbs boneless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup polenta (quick-cooking is best), or stone-ground cornmeal, or just plain cornmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup olive oil (for frying), plus additional olive oil
• paprika, salt, and freshly-ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tbsp capers
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2/3 cup water or chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp butter
• A couple of handfuls of baby spinach

Method

1. Pound the chicken breasts to 1/2″ thickness between sheets of plastic wrap with a heavy saucepan.
2. Beat the eggs with some salt, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl, with a little olive oil for good measure.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and corn meal/polenta, with 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, and paprika.
4. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off. Then dredge in the cornmeal mixture until well-coated. Let rest for 10 minutes on a cooling rack to give the coating time to adhere well to the meat.
5. Heat the vegetable oil and olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or other heavy pan over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken in batches, 3 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
6. Let the chicken rest on a paper towel covered loosely.
7. Discard the oil from the pan and wipe gently with a paper towel. Return the pan to medium heat.
8. Heat a couple more Tbsp olive oil in the pan. Then add the tomato paste, whisking to break the tomato up and fry for a minute.
9. Add the vinegar, capers, sugar, and broth or water, and cook, whisking occasionally, 5-8 minutes until the sauce is reduced and thickened.
10. Adjust the salt, add some freshly-ground black pepper, turn off the heat, and whisk in the butter.
11. Pour a little of the hot sauce over spinach to wilt it slightly. Serve the chicken breast over some of the spinach, with more of the sauce on top.

Serves 4. Mashed redskin potatoes are a lovely accompaniment.