There are dishes that, with very few ingredients and a simple technique , end up occupying an important place in a region's cuisine. I'm sure you can think of some from your own region, right? It happens a lot.
With humble origins, they've become ingrained in people's culture, sometimes associated with a specific time of year or celebrations.
In Chile, that's the case with sopaipillas, which are practically an institution. Don't confuse them, though; we're not talking about Andalusian sopaipillas here—we'll leave those for another time.
As we just mentioned, Chilean sopaipillas are an emblem of the country's gastronomy.
But what are they? Well, in case you're not familiar with them, they're fried cakes that, as a rule, contain pumpkin (or squash, as it's known there). The use of pumpkin isn't accidental; it has its reason.
Adding mashed pumpkin or squash to the batter not only gives it its characteristic color but also softens its texture, resulting in a tender treat with a slightly sweet flavor that balances the whole. Round, orange in color, and with clearly visible fork marks, you can enjoy them as is, freshly fried, or with pebre, a Chilean salsa somewhat similar to pico de gallo or a chili sauce.
But that's not all, as they also lend themselves to being combined with sweet flavors, in case you have a sweet tooth. Simply sprinkled with sugar or even in the form of sopaipillas pasadas, the name they receive when they are soaked in a syrup of panela or chancaca with spices (cinnamon, anise and cloves) and orange or some other citrus fruit.
Recipe Information
- Preparation time : 20 minutes
- Cooking time : 40 minutes
- Total time : 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Servings : 4 (between 12 and 14 units)
- Category : Appetizer
- Type of cuisine : Chilean
- Calories per serving (kcal) : 395
Sopaipilla ingredients
- 200g of pumpkin or squash (1 cup of pumpkin puree )
- 250 g of wheat flour (2 cups of flour)
- 30g of butter
- Half a teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder or chemical leavening agent
- Mild frying oil in a generous quantity
How to make sopaipillas
We begin by preparing the key ingredient. Peel and dice 200g of pumpkin. We'll try to make them a similar size so they cook evenly, although they don't need to be exactly the same.
Next, place the chopped pumpkin in boiling water and let it cook over medium heat until very tender. This may take 15 to 20 minutes. To check if it's done, it should offer no resistance when pierced with a fork.
Once cooked, drain the pumpkin very well and reserve the broth. Transfer the pumpkin to a bowl and, using a fork or another tool for making purees like a potato masher, mash the pumpkin to make a puree. It doesn't need to be perfectly smooth, but it should be lump-free.
With the puree ready and already lukewarm or cold, we combine in a bowl the crushed pumpkin with 250 g of wheat flour, 30 g of cubed butter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking powder or chemical yeast.
Next, knead until you obtain a smooth, soft, and manageable dough that doesn't stick excessively to your hands. It's enough that all the ingredients are incorporated. Prolonged or vigorous kneading is not recommended, as this will result in a tough final texture.
If the dough is too dry or too wet, you can correct it by gradually adding cooking broth or more flour, respectively. Let the dough rest in the bowl, covered with a cloth, for about 30 minutes to relax and make it easier to roll out later.
After the resting period, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured work surface until it is approximately half a centimeter thick. Try to make it as even as possible.
Next, prick the entire surface of the dough with a fork. This isn't just decorative. Prickly pricking it is necessary for proper frying. Also, making the holes at this stage helps prevent the dough from shrinking when we cut it later.
Once the dough is well pricked, using a cookie cutter or other utensil, cut it into round discs. In our case, we used a glass about 8 cm in diameter, but the size can be adjusted to your liking. Don't throw away the scraps. Gather them together, let them rest for a few minutes to relax the dough, roll them out again, prick them, and cut them in the same way.
Finally, fry the sopaipillas in plenty of very hot oil, using enough oil so that they float. Leave them until they are golden brown on both sides and puff up slightly.
We'll fry them in batches to avoid overloading the pan and to prevent the oil from cooling down. If the oil gets cold, the sopaipillas will be greasy. Finally, as we remove them from the pan, we'll let them drain on a wire rack or paper towels to remove the excess oil.
Now we can serve and enjoy these delicious sopaipillas.
Easy-to-prepare summary
- Cut the pumpkin into cubes
- Cook the pumpkin until tender
- Drain and mash it into a puree
- In a bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, flour, cubed butter, salt, and baking powder.
- Knead until you obtain a smooth and manageable dough and let it rest.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of half a centimeter
- Prick the entire rolled-out dough with a fork.
- Cut the dough into round discs
- Fry in batches in very hot oil until golden brown on both sides
- Drain the sopaipillas on a rack or absorbent paper
- Serve the sopaipillas
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The recipes in this collection are the ones I personally return to again and again—whether I’m cooking a quick meal for myself or preparing something special for friends and family.
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