homemade sopes w/ shrimp, avocado & chipotle yogurt sauce

one of my man's favorite styles of food to eat is mexican, and therefore, because "somebody" had a birthday last week, i decided to surprise him w/ one of mexico's traditional dishes.  truth be told, he was one happy 33 year old. :)  

these little rounds of goodness, sopes, originated in the city of culiacan.  they're made from masa flour and resemble a thick tortilla, and are typically topped w/ refried beans, cotija cheese, veggies and salsa.  i made my own variation, of course.  i incorporated some red potatoes and spices into the corn flour, omitted the refried beans, used a pesto gouda cheese and made a chipotle yogurt sauce.

recipe: serves 2

sopes ingredients

masa flour (follow directions on package)

red potatoes, boiled until fork-tender

cumin

smoked paprika

s & p

mix masa flour and water according the package.  add in potatoes and other ingredients, and mix again to combine.

sopes toppings ingredients

blackened shrimp (i roasted them in a 375 degree oven for about 5-7min)

purple cabbage, chopped

fresh scallions, chopped

fresh cilantro, chopped

pesto gouda cheese, grated

avocado

fresh lime wedge

s & p

chipotle yogurt sauce ingredients

chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (be careful, they're spicy)

non-fat, plain greek yogurt

s & p

blend ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.

black beans & rice ingredients

dirty rice, cooked in chicken broth

black beans, rinsed

good-quality salsa

serrano chiles, de-seeded

s & p

fresh lime juice  

cook rice in broth.  add additional ingredients after rice is cooked, stir to combine and serve.