This was also my first experience with lard. While you can use shortening in its place, lard is a more natural source of fat. Our grandmothers grew up on the stuff- it can’t be that scary! It took me three tries to find a grocer that actually sells the stuff and you have to make sure it is not hydrogenated or you are probably better off with shortening. Ideally, you could render your own, but since I don’t have a pet hog I settled for store-bought. Unless you have a reliable source of pure lard, using non hydrogenated shortening is probably your best bet.
But back to the sopapillas! As a savory dish they are torn open and stuffed with Green Chili Ground Beef, refried beans, Spanish Rice, lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and salsa. For dessert try them sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, dusted with powdered sugar, or drizzled in honey!
3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. lard or shortening
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
5 1/2- 6 cups all-purpose flour
canola oil, for frying
DIRECTIONS
1. Add sugar to water. Sprinkle in yeast and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add salt, lard, and 1 cup flour. Mix thoroughly.
3. Continue adding flour, 1 cup at a time and mixing well after each addition, until dough cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead 5 minutes. (You may need to add more flour to prevent dough from sticking.)
4. Rub dough with a small amount of lard or spray with cooking spray. Cover, set in a warm place, and let rise 1 hour.
5. Push down and divide in half. Roll out half of dough at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3″ or 4″ squares.
6. Preheat canola oil in a large pot on high heat. To test oil, drop a small piece of dough into the hot oil. It will quickly puff and turn brown at the right temperature.
7. Fry dough by gently placing the squares into the hot oil. Continuously spoon oil over top of the dough until they puff and are light golden on both sides.
8. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towel. Best served hot. (If you are frying a large batch you might want to keep them warm in a 200 F oven until ready to serve.)
Serve with green chili ground beef, refried beans, Spanish rice, shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, and salsa for stuffing. Also delicious sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, powdered sugar, or drizzled with honey.
Serves 8.
seriously good!
Signed, your hot husband
We were the recipients of those great sopapillas on Sunday at your parents home, yum so good!!!
Keep the recipes coming! Love it.