CHILEAN-STYLE SOPAIPILLAS

Chilean-Style Sopaipillas image

This is a traditional Chilean snack, or maybe an appetizer. The truth is that it's a snack eaten during winter time, especially when it rains. It is typical to arrive home after walking through the rainy streets of Santiago and sit down to have a cup of tea and eat a couple of sopaipillas. You can also eat ones sold by street vendors, but they usually don't taste as good as home-made ones. If you can't find zapallo, pumpkin is a good substitute.

Provided by Makka

Categories Appetizers and Snacks Pastries

Time 1h

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

9 ounces zapallo squash
4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups canola oil for pan-frying

Steps:

Peel, seed, and cut the zapallo into chunks. Place in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until zapallo is soft and easily pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly.
Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl, and set aside. Stir together the squash and melted butter. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until blended. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and satiny, adding a little more flour if necessary. Cover dough with a towel and allow to rest 15 minutes.
Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick, and cut into 3 inch diameter circles. Poke each circle a few times with a fork to make holes and prevent rising.
Pour vegetable oil into a large, deep skillet and heat over medium-high heat until hot, 385 degrees F (195 degrees C). Place several of the dough circles into hot oil; cook until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Cook remainder of dough circles in batches.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 286.2 calories, Carbohydrate 35.6 g, Cholesterol 25.4 mg, Fat 13.8 g, Fiber 1.5 g, Protein 4.9 g, SaturatedFat 6.4 g, Sodium 368.6 mg, Sugar 0.6 g