6-8 servings, 1 cup sauce; 20 min preparation; 1 h waiting; 20 min cooking.

The sky today was so gray and wintry that I thought of a dish, typical for bad weather. I’m talking about two Chilean classics that go perfectly together. Sopaipillas are small pumpkin breads, made by Chilean women in a rainy day. Well, it wasn’t raining here, but I thought that snow comes in the same category.

Normally these golden circles are fried, but I didn’t want to add so many calories to the dish, so I just baked mine in the oven. And the good thing about sopaipillas is that you can eat them with any savory dip, but you can also put jam or chocolate paste on top. So feel free to pick your favorite dip and make your day a little bit brighter.

The dip that I chose is really one of the most common condiments that every restaurant in Chile serves. Pebre is a spicy tomato-herbs salsa that is commonly eaten in combination with our pumpkin breads. It goes perfectly with any BBQ or meat dish as it makes it fresh and more special. The sweetness of the tomatoes, sourness of the vinegar combines perfectly with the freshness of the herbs and the kick of the spice.

I have a feeling that this pebre salsa will become a regular dip on my table. After trying the combination of these two Chilean classics, I totally get it why women make them in a rainy day.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked butternut squash
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp melted butter

for the Pebre salsa

• 3 tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• 3 tbsp chives, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 yellow ají pepper, minced or 1 chilli, minced
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Sopaipillas: Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a hole in the middle and add the squash and butter. Knead the ingredients until they turn to a soft dough. Leave the dough under a clean towel for about an hour to rise.

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Roll the dough using a rolling-pin. The sheet should be about 5 mm thick. Cut circles using a glass or a baking cutter. Make a couple of holes with a fork in each circle. Put them on a baking tray and bake for 25 min in the preheated oven. You can also fry them in a pan with hot oil until golden brown on both sides.

Pebre salsa: Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and cut them fine. Chop the herbs very fine. If you find ají chilli pepper, it would be great, but you can also make the dip with normal red chilli pepper, as long as it’s spicy. Mince the chilli fine. Mince the garlic very fine.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the hot sopaipillas. Enjoy!