Papanași - Romanian Cheese Doughnuts
You haven't been to Romania, if you didn't try Papanasi!! These fried doughnuts topped with jam are one of the best known romanian desserts , something you will probably find on the menu of every Romanian restaurant. As they are easy and quick to make, you can also try them at home. And I promise, that both children and adults, will love it! I made these cheese doughnuts (papanași) with sour cream and blackcurrant jam. Absolutly delicious!
I must say, this is not something I would eat everyday, because of the calories intake. But from time to time we deserve a treat.
Ingredients:
- 500g ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
- 300g flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 30g vanilla sugar
- 1 lemon zest
- A pinch of salt
Ingredients for decoration:
-sour cream and blackcurrant jam (or sour cherry, blackberry, blueberry jam etc)
Method:
1. First, and the most important task is to drain the excess water from the ricotta or cottage cheese, then add the eggs, vanilla extract, salt, vanilla sugar, the lemon zest and the baking soda. Mix everything well, then add the flour little by little by mixing it with a spoon. dont't over mix it. When the composition it’s getting thicker, mix it with your hand. The composition should not turn into a smooth paste.
2. Flour the working surface and your hands. The dough should still be somewhat sticky, yet manageable. Add more flour only if absolutely necessary, only if the dough sticks so much that you will not be able to work it at all. Divide the dough into 9 balls. Roll 8 of the balls into thick sausages and unite the sausage ends to get a circle with a hole in the middle. Use the last ball to make 8 little balls, which will be placed on top the papanasi.
3. In the meantime, heat the oil in a pot. Use enough oil to have about 10 cm/ 4 inches of it, in the pot. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Fry only one or two papanasi at a time,do not overcrowd the pan and fry until the papanasi are golden brown. It took me about 5 to 7 minutes for one batch, but keep a close look and take them out as soon as they have a nice golden color.
4. Place them on plates with kitchen paper in order to absorb some of the excess oil.
5. Serve warm, topped with sour cream and your desired jam. Place the little balls on top and top them with a little sour cream and jam as well. Enjoy!
" I'm just a person, standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a donut. "
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