Samantha Conradie's Papanasi Recipe
Samantha Conradie's Papanasi / Kathy Pitout Photography
“It’s a traditional Romanian desert and the reason it means so much to me is because, for the past two and half years, I was a medical student in Bucharest, Romania. My story is quite unique! I chose Papanasi, a wholesome and delicious dish, to pay my respects to all the lessons I learnt and experiences I gained during my time in Bucharest. It may have been the wrong career choice, but it was a worthwhile journey - and I have no regrets.”
Samantha Conradie's Papanasi Recipe
Ingredients:
500g cottage cheese - 2 ¼ cups
2 eggs
a few drops rum essence
75g granulated sugar
230-250g champagne valley cake flour - about 2 cups
1 teaspoon baking soda
Sunfoil cooking oil for frying the doughnuts
250g crème fraiche (cultured cream) to serve - about 1 cup
Mixed Berry Jam
500g mixed frozen berries
500g white sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice
Method:
Drain the excess water from the cottage cheese.
In a mixing bowl, add the cottage cheese, eggs, rum essence and the granulated sugar. whisk the ingredients until the mixture is roughly combined. The cottage cheese should not be smooth.
In another bowl combine 230g of the flour and the baking soda and add them to the cheese mixture. Mix with a spoon.
Flour the working surface as well as your hands generously. Turn the dough onto the floured surface and knead it to form a ball. Add the remaining flour if needed, if the dough is too sticky to work with.
Divide the dough into 9 balls. Roll 8 of the balls into sausages and unite the ends to form a circle with a hole in the middle, a doughnut shape. Use the last ball to make 8 little balls, which will be used to top the papanasi.
In a pot, heat the oil. Use enough oil to have about 10 cm of it in the pot. To check if the oil has reached the correct temperature, insert a toothpick in the oil; if blisters form around the toothpick, you can start frying the papanasi.
Only fry two or three papanasi at a time, depending on the size of your pot, do not overcrowd them.
Reduce the heat to medium, turn the doughnuts a few times until golden brown, approximately 5 minutes per batch.
Repeat the frying process with the 8 little balls, frying for approximately 3-4 minutes.
Place the doughnuts on a tray lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
Serve warm, topped with crème fraiche and blueberry jam. Place the small doughnuts on top of the larger doughnuts and top with crème fraiche and blueberry jam as well.
Mixed Berry Jam Method:
Place all the berries into a heavy-based pot and allow to reach simmering point.
When you see liquid coming from the berries, add the sugar. Stir continuously until all sugar crystals have dissolved.
Allow to simmer until a drop of jam firms up on a cold plate in the fridge.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice before serving and store any left over jam in a sterilized bottle.