flipSopaipillas con pebre
Sopaipillas con pebre
Why this dish? In Chile, the first rainy day brings out vendors of steaming sopaipillas on street corners. This fried squash patty, eaten with spicy pebre, is the popular, warm street food of Santiago that Bachelet, a hands-on woman, encountered all her life.
A round, golden fried patty, soft inside thanks to the squash incorporated into the dough. Dipped in pebre — fresh salsa of coriander, onion, garlic, and chili — or drizzled with chancaca syrup for the sweet version.
On the first rainy day, you know, all Chile wants sopaipillas! You mash squash into the dough to make them tender, fry them in hot oil, and eat them burning hot on the street corner, topped with pebre that stings just right. It's humble, it's warm, it's shared under the same umbrella — that's my country.
- •Cooked and mashed squash (zapallo) — a portion (softness of dough)
- •Flour — double the squash (dough)
- •Lard — a little (binder)
- •Coriander, onion, garlic, aji (chili) — for the pebre (accompanying salsa)
- •Frying oil — as needed (cooking)
Sopaipillas con pebre
A round, golden fried patty, soft inside thanks to the squash incorporated into the dough. Dipped in pebre — fresh salsa of coriander, onion, garlic, and chili — or drizzled with chancaca syrup for the sweet version.
Why this dish? In Chile, the first rainy day brings out vendors of steaming sopaipillas on street corners. This fried squash patty, eaten with spicy pebre, is the popular, warm street food of Santiago that Bachelet, a hands-on woman, encountered all her life.
On the first rainy day, you know, all Chile wants sopaipillas! You mash squash into the dough to make them tender, fry them in hot oil, and eat them burning hot on the street corner, topped with pebre that stings just right. It's humble, it's warm, it's shared under the same umbrella — that's my country.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cooked and mashed squash (zapallo) — a portion (softness of dough)
- Flour — double the squash (dough)
- Lard — a little (binder)
- Coriander, onion, garlic, aji (chili) — for the pebre (accompanying salsa)
- Frying oil — as needed (cooking)
Ingredients
- Cooked and mashed butternut squash — 250 g (softness)
- Flour — 350 g (dough)
- Lard or melted butter — 50 g (binder)
- Baking powder and salt — 1 tsp / 1 pinch (dough)
- Coriander, onion, garlic, fresh chili — 1 bunch / 1 / 1 clove / to taste (pebre)
- Lemon, oil, salt for pebre — to taste (seasoning)
- Frying oil — 1 L (cooking)
Method
- Mix warm mashed squash with flour, melted lard, baking powder, and salt; knead into a soft dough, let rest 30 min.
- Prepare pebre: finely chop coriander, onion, and garlic, add chili, lemon juice, oil, and salt; set aside.
- Roll out dough to 5 mm, cut into disks, prick with a fork.
- Fry in oil at 180 °C until puffed and golden on both sides.
- Drain on paper, serve hot with pebre (or drizzled with chancaca syrup for sweet version).
How it was made : A word of Mozarabic origin ('xopaipa'), the sopaipilla took root in central Chile where squash makes it characteristically soft. Sold by street vendors, it is ritually associated with rainy days. Pebre, the ubiquitous table salsa, accompanies it daily.
The contemporary twist : Small appetizer size, pebre served on the side in a bowl, and a 'sopaipillas pasadas' version in spicy chancaca syrup to finish sweet.
Michelle Bachelet · Charactorium
