Sopaipillas, a vegetarian recipe from Chile

Name: Sopaipillas
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chile
Ingredients: 300 g cooked butternut squash purée, well drained; 400 g plain flour; 50 ml neutral oil, for the dough; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp baking powder; Oil, for deep frying; 2 tomatoes, very finely diced; 1 red onion, finely chopped; 1 bunch coriander, chopped; 1 green chilli, seeded and chopped; 2 tbsp wine vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

Steam the squash, mash it and let it cool in a sieve to drain; a wet purée gives a dough you cannot work with.
Mix the warm purée with the oil and salt, then work in the flour and baking powder until you have a supple, non-sticky dough.
Knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface, then rest for 20 minutes under a cloth.
Make the pebre by stirring together the tomatoes, red onion, coriander, chilli, vinegar, olive oil and a good pinch of salt.
Roll the dough out to 5 mm, cut 8 cm discs and prick each one two or three times with a fork so they do not balloon.
Heat the oil to 180°C and fry the sopaipillas for 2 minutes a side, until golden and blistered.
Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with the pebre.

In Santiago sopaipillas appear on street corners the moment the rain starts. How much flour you need depends on how wet your squash is, so add it gradually rather than all at once.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

Frequently asked questions

Exactly how much flour do I need?

It depends on how wet your squash is, which is why it goes in gradually rather than all at once. Stop as soon as the dough is supple and no longer sticks to your hands: too much flour gives dry, brittle sopaipillas.

Why drain the squash purée?

A wet purée makes a tacky dough you can neither knead nor roll, and it keeps demanding more flour. Let the cooked squash drain in a sieve as it cools, then work it while still warm with the oil and salt.

What are the fork holes for?

Without them the steam is trapped inside the disc and the sopaipilla inflates like a balloon, leaving an air pocket in the middle and raw dough around it. Two or three pricks let the steam out while still allowing a good blistered puff.

Sopaipillas

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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