Wednesday, January 3

2007...

A new year, a new beginning.
Good resolutions, firework, lots and lots of oliebollen and a chance for 20 million in the new years eve lottery.
That last one didn’t come true of course, but the oliebollen part made it up quite all right…

As I already let you know with my ‘Things to Eat before You Die’-list, oliebollen are one of my favourite things in the world.
But, needless to say, only oliebollen from my family recipe. The average bol that is sold during this time of year in the special pastry stalls is a bit too greasy for my taste and has nothing, or maybe, when you’re lucky, 4 raisins as filling. Not really my taste. We like our bollen as they were made intentionally: properly filled. The trick is to use eggs, lemon zest ànd juice and lots and lots (and lots) of apples, raisins and currants. A delicious, sweet, airy and moist bol with a golden brown, crispy layer will be the result.

I love oliebollen. It’s strange you can attach so much to customs; it happens still occasionally through the year, mid June for example, that I would kill for a fresh, still warm bol - we however haven’t made them ever on a different day then the 31st. It’s just not right. We wait a year, and then eat for 3 days nothing else than oliebollen. Period. (and we are of course at least a month sick of them afterwards…) ;)

Oliebollen are one of the most well-known Dutch things. Although not everybody makes them their selves, making them is in our family a true tradition. We start bright and early with our batch, call how it’s going with the others and the next day tasting and comparing the golden beauties with the rest…

So, a new year.
"Let's hope it's a good one, without any fears."
Up to new starts, hopes, wishes, opportunities and chances.
And of course...Tasting Life!


Superbollen, Oliebollen
(“dough balls”) makes about 45
- 800g (6 cups) flour
- 16g (1 Tbsp) salt
- 4 eggs
- 40g fresh yeast
- 0.6L (2 ½ cups) milk
- 2 Jonagold apples
- 3 Goudreinet apples (if you don’ have these apples, just use firm, sour apples)
- 200g yellow sultana raisins,
- 200g blue sultana raisins,
- 200g currants
- 3 lemons - the zest of 3 lemons, and the juice of 1/2 lemon
- 100g (1 stick/½ cup) butter

- a deep-frying pan with fresh deep-frying fat (sunflower oil)
- kitchen paper and napkins
- powder sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat about 0,2L (1 cup) of the total 0.6L until it’s tepid. (about 40°C - 104°F) Pour the warm milk in a small bowl and crumble the yeast over it. Stir gradually until it’s completely dissolved, cover up and set to rest on a warm place.

2. Peel the apples, chop them in 4 pieces, remove the core, and cut the parts into tiny little pieces. Put the apples together with the raisins, currants, lemon juice and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well.

3. In the biggest basin you have, (or a clean bucket) sift together the flour and salt. Make a small hole in the centre and insert one egg. Mix with the electric mixer fitted with the dough hooks until the egg is completely inserted. Then add the second egg and repeat this process until all eggs are added.
In a small pan, melt the butter. Heat in the ‘milk’ pan the rest of the milk until tepid.
Add to the flour/egg mixture the yeast mixture that was resting and mix until well blended. Add the rest of the milk and mix until combined, to end with mix the melted butter in. Change the dough hooks for the whisk hooks and mix until the whole mixture is one smooth mass. Scoop the filling in, mix well, cover up with a damp towel and set to rest on a very warm place for 1 to 2 hours. Now the dough will have risen and doubled in its size…

4. Heat the deep-frying fat until it reaches 180ºC. take an ice scooper or two tablespoons and stick the spoons in the heated fat for a couple of seconds. (this will prevent the batter from sticking to the spoons) take a big spoon full of dough, round it a bit, and carefully dip it into the oil. Repeat this, but don't have more than 6 of them into the oil at the same time (this also depends on the size of your pan). Fry the 'oliebollen' for 6 minutes, 3 for each side, until they are nice gold brownish.


5. Take the oliebollen out and let them leak out on kitchen paper until they are completely dry. Serve warm or cold with lots and lots of powder sugar. The oliebollen will keep for 2,3 days, but they are best the first day. Keep them in a bowl covered with a towel.

23 comments:

FH said...

Looks wonderful Julia!Enjoy all those and have fun!

Happy and healthy 2007!:)

wheresmymind said...

Oh...that looks like deep fried goodness!

Lauren said...

oh my... this sounds like heaven to me!! thank you for introducing me to yet another wonderful concoction I can grow to love.

Ange said...

These sounds absolutely delicious though funnily in my year & a half living in Den haag I never came accross them once!

Anonymous said...

I bet they taste heavenly, especially from a family recipe :)

Anonymous said...

Mmmm, I love fried dough...I could eat a ton of these!

Dan said...

Julia, your blog is filled with terrific recipes. Do you eat everything you cook? If so, how do you keep from weighing a ton? :)

I'm a vegan, by the way. Is there a quick way to find vegan recipes on your blog?

Happy New Year! Hugs and kisses.

Anonymous said...

Julia these look so wonderful!! I love reading about your family traditions!

Anonymous said...

Oh my! I want to try tasting those. Have you any left?

And i'm so jealous about the books you've received for Christmas... i've been secretly wishing for a Pierre Herme book. Especially the ones with macarons on them!

And... can you believe it? Baking with Julia. How lovely is that? Your name on it plus you love baking. You have been spoilt! :)

Mae

Anonymous said...

Those look delicious! I'd like to have one with some coffee right about now. :)

Ari (Baking and Books)

Amy said...

Mmmmmm, oliebollen! I just happened upon your blog and saw a reference to them. I lived in Weert in Limburg for about a year and LOVED eating these in December and January. I'm going to tuck this recipe away for next December!
Thanks for sharing!

Linda said...

wow these look so flavorful -- very interesting recipe. i need to give it a go. thanks for posting it!!!

beautiful photographs!

Paola Westbeek said...

Hi there!

Just came across your blog. Looks great! As an expat living in The NL for the past ten years, I can't agree with you more...oliebollen rule! I'm going to attempt making them myself this year. Your recipe looks great so I might just give it a go!

Groetjes,
Paola

Mansi said...

hey Julia, is it already New Year in your side of the world??:) hehehe...these delightful dutch pstry looks very intriguing...haven't tried anything like it before:)

Wish you a happy 2008!

bigfish_chin said...

Hi, I'm Chinese from Malaysia. Hope u don mind I'm adding u in my List.
I love cooking, just started my blog since Oct'07. Having my own Cook Book here @ www.bigfishchin.blogspot.com

Martin said...

Coole blog heb je, en oliebollen zijn "the bomb" Ben deze oud en nieuw bij mijn broertje in Noord Ierland geweest maar ben natuurlijk niet vergeten oliebollenmix mee te nemen. De Ieren wisten niet wat ze proefden :D

Ga zo door ik hou het met belangstelling bij!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness. These look DEADLY delicious! So many beautiful ingredients (apples, raisins, currants, lemon) and then to deep fry them? It's too cruel. (Which makes me want one even more...)

Susan @ SGCC said...

These look wonderful! Great recipe!

The Downtown Boutique said...

I haven't had olliebollens in a long time! We actually got a recipe from the Betty Crocker New International Cookbook (which I'm sure pales in comparison to this family recipe of yours), way back in the 80's. My mom would make them every year for Christmas breakfasts! And when I would make them, I would always make sure they were FULL of raisins (that I plumped by boiling them in hot water before adding to the dough).

Ken said...

I'm a first generation American. My parents came to the USA as babies in 1911. My mother made oliebollen for me and my friends once a winter, after ice skating. Now I have the recipe! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Fabulpus idea! I have to do an oliebollen or appelflappen posting around news years as well :)

Patricia said...

your blog is wonderful! Congratulations!
Kisses from Italy
Pati

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