This past week was quite intense and reminded me that as a mother we should be more active, mindful and conscious. That we should set an example to our little ones of how we should treat each other and the environment; that we need to work hard for what we believe in. Because I’ve been graced with such a strong and talented mother/role model,  I wanted to feature a recipe from her home country. 

If you’ve had the pleasure of travelling to Chile, then you might have enjoyed this pumpkin fritter. Served as a salty amuse bouche or a sweet treat dusted with sugar or dunked in a sweet spiced syrup, this pleasantly crunchy and airy treat will make you feel instantly merry not dissimilar to the power of a donut (or any fried dough for that matter!). The syrup is normally flavoured with orange peel, cloves and cinnamon which make it a perfect fall and winter treat. 

 “It’s a sopaipillas type of day” you’ll likely hear Toni say, aka it’s rainy and gloomy so let’s treat ourselves. 

Sopaipillas
Makes about 4 dozen sopaipillas

Ingredients
2 cups puréed steamed pumpkin
4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 tblsp butter
1 tblsp oil
1/2 c water
1 1/2 tsp salt
Oil to fry

1. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.

2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add puréed pumpkin, butter, oil, and water. Using a fork, mix wet ingredients only, until the mixture is homogeneous.

3. With the fork, gradually start incorporating flour from the sides of the well. Keep doing this until most of the flour is incorporated.

4. Once the dough starts to come together, begin kneading with your hands just until dough is smooth.

5. Form dough into a ball, cut ball in half and cover with a dishcloth.

6. On a floured surface using a rolling pin, roll out half of the dough to 1/2 cm thick.

7. Using a round cookie cutter, cut as many rounds as you can. Reroll the scraps and cut more rounds. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.

8. In a deep frying pan, heat up oil. Oil is ready when a small piece of dough sizzles and immediately floats to the top when dropped in the oil.

9. Fry rounds, on both sides, until puffy (about 1-2 min on each side)

10. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Provecho!