Cinco de Mayo (on May 5), a celebration of the victory at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 by the Mexican Army over France, deserves more than a supper of leftovers folded into tortillas. Try sopes, savory corn cakes that are popular Mexican street food, made with fresh or dried corn masa. They're little round cakes filled with whatever you fancy (refried beans, shredded chicken, or cheese are a few possibilities), topped with all kinds of garnishes, such as salsa, avocado, and cilantro. Often sopes are fried until crisp, but they can also be made without deep frying to create a sope that is a little crisp on the outside and soft and warm in the center. Sopes are fun to make and serve as a meal.

Fresh masa dough is hard to find, but instant dried corn flour, called masa harina, is available in most grocery stores. It's not the same as cornmeal; it's made from corn that has been treated with lime, ground into a dough, and dried into a flour that can be reconstituted with water. The traditional cheese for sopes is crumbly, salty cotija, but feta or goat cheese are good substitutes, or improvise with your favorite cheese.

Mix the dough, then rest it to let the masa hydrate. Form it into balls and press them into rounds between two squares of plastic with a glass pie pan so you can see the size and shape of the round; they should resemble thick tortillas. Cook for a few minutes in a dry skillet, let them cool briefly, and use your fingers to form a ridge around the rim to hold the filling. You can make the shells, unfilled, up to three hours ahead (keep them covered with foil.) Mix and match your garnishes. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in style.

Sally Pasley Vargas

Sopes with Refried Beans and Cheese (Mexican Corn Cakes)

Serves 4

SOPES

2 cups masa harina (instant corn flour), such as Maseca brand

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups warm water

Olive or vegetable oil (for the baking sheet)

1. Have on hand a 9-inch glass pie pan or glass baking dish, a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet, and a rimmed baking sheet. Cut two 7-inch squares from a 1-quart plastic freezer bag.

2. In a bowl, whisk the masa harina and salt to blend them. Add all but a few tablespoons of the water and mix with your fingers to form a soft dough. Knead the dough in the bowl for about 1 minute. If the dough is crumbly, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough sticks to your fingers, add more masa, 1 tablespoon at time. It should be slightly tacky but not overly sticky. Form the dough into a 9-inch cylinder and wrap in plastic wrap (not the squares you cut). Rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

3. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Brush the baking sheet with oil.

4. Cut the cylinder of dough into 9 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball about the size of golf balls. Place 1 ball in the center of one of the plastic squares. Press it with the heel of your hand to flatten it slightly. Place the second square of plastic on top. With the pie pan, press the dough into an even disk that is about 4½ inches wide and ¼-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough, setting them aside on the countertop until you have flattened all of them.

5. Heat the skillet over medium-low heat. Working with 2 to 3 sopes at a time, set the rounds in the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on a side, or until they are speckled with brown spots on both sides. Set on a plate to cool for about 1 minute. The dough will not be cooked all the way through. Start cooking the second round of sopes while you wait for the first round to cool slightly.

6. To form rims: Place your thumbs inside the circle of a warm sope and set your fingers on the outside. Press together to form a ¼-inch ridge all around. If necessary, protect your fingers from the heat with a folded paper towel. Set them on the oiled baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sopes.

FILLING

1 can (15 ounces) refried black beans

3 ounces cotija, feta, or goat cheese, crumbled

½ cup bottled green tomatilla salsa

1 ripe avocado, cut into small pieces

4 radishes, thinly sliced

Handful fresh cilantro leaves

¼ red onion, chopped

1. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of refried beans in the center of each sope and spread it to fill the round. Sprinkle each with about 2 tablespoons of cotija, feta, or goat cheese.

2. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until each sope is hot all the way through.

3. Remove from the oven and garnish with salsa, avocado, radishes, cilantro, and red onion.

Sally Pasley Vargas