This is a very typical Christmas pastry in Portugal and there are different possible variations.
The recipe as described bellow was created by my mother and it tastes fantastically!
1 Kg mashed carrots
200 g powder sugar
200 g wheat flour
30 g baker’s yeast
4 egg yolks
3 whole eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 orange’s zest
Frying oil
Preparation
. mix the powder sugar with the mashed carrots
. add the flour and mix it well
. dissolve the baker’s yeast in warm water and add it to the mix
. add the eggs, the yolks, the zest and the cinnamon
. cover it with a cloth a let it rest until it doubles in volume
. heat up the oil in a pan
. spoon by spoon bring the “paste nuggets” to fry
. turn them continuously until they’re swollen and golden brown
. remove them from the oil with the help of a skimmer
. put them on absorbent paper in order to soak up the remaining oil
Note: after the first 2 to 3 tries you should check if the inside of the “carrot dream” has also been fried. Some people let them burst while frying to make sure they fry inside out.
Enjoy!
