Fried papanași with cottage cheese

Name: Fried papanași with cottage cheese
Ingredients: 250 g well-drained cottage cheese; 2 eggs; 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 packet bourbon vanilla sugar; 1 packet cinnamon vanilla sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 15 ml lemon juice; 150 g flour; 500 ml oil for frying; 200 g sour cream; 100 g blueberry jam; 30 ml milk; 20 g powdered sugar

Dessert - Fried papanași with cottage cheese by Rafila I. - Recipia

The soft dough is portioned out by the spoonful, and fried papanași with cottage cheese stay tender if I don't add extra flour. The cottage cheese and eggs bind the centers, with sour cream and blueberry jam on top. I prefer them every time; I've had some of the best at the Cozia restaurant in Căciulata, with mine the exception, and at home I serve them with thicker sour cream. Preparation: 25 minutes. Cooking: 29 minutes. Total time: 54 minutes. Servings: 3. Approximately 650 kcal and 21 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

For the dough

250 g well-drained cottage cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 packet bourbon vanilla sugar
1 packet cinnamon vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
15 ml lemon juice
150 g flour
500 ml oil for frying

For serving

200 g sour cream
100 g blueberry jam
30 ml milk
20 g powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Put the well-drained cottage cheese in a bowl, add the 2 eggs and mix until smooth. 2. Activate 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda with 15 ml lemon juice. Add them to the bowl along with 2 tablespoons sugar, the two packets of vanilla sugar and the flour, keeping a little of the 150 g for dusting. Mix until you can no longer see any dry flour. 3. Use a spoon to put the dough on a floured work surface. Dust your hands with flour, shape 6 rings and save some of the dough for the little balls on top. 4. Heat 500 ml oil in a saucepan for about 5 minutes, until it reaches 170°C. 5. Fry the rings in 3 batches, 2 at a time, for 3 minutes on each side. Take them out when golden brown and place them on paper towels. 6. Fry the little balls in the same saucepan for 6 minutes in total, turning them until golden brown. Take them out and place them on paper towels. 7. Mix 200 g sour cream with 30 ml milk and 20 g powdered sugar. For each serving, put 2 papanași on a plate, fill the centers with blueberry jam, place a little ball on top and add sour cream and a teaspoon of jam.

Notes

You can replace the blueberry jam with 100 g sour cherry jam; the dough contains gluten, eggs and dairy. A mug of unsweetened black tea goes well with a serving. The papanași keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, but they're best freshly fried. I make the dough close to mealtime, since the baking powder starts working once it gets wet. If the cottage cheese is lumpy, push it through a sieve before mixing; if it's wet, leave it to drain longer rather than compensating with lots of flour. Sour cream from a tub can be very thick, so add the milk gradually until it slowly runs off the spoon. If you make a larger batch, work with the dough in batches rather than putting all the papanași in the saucepan at once.