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Picarones
Sweet potato and squash doughnuts
Sweet potato and squash doughnut rings with chancaca syrup; dough rises 1½–2 hours
Picarones are Lima's favourite street sweet, fried to order at stalls in the parks and outside churches, especially in October during the Señor de los Milagros processions. The light, chewy rings are made from a yeasted dough of sweet potato and squash, scented with anise, fried until crisp and drenched in miel de chancaca, a dark syrup of unrefined cane sugar with orange peel, cinnamon and cloves. They are eaten hot, straight from the oil, with plenty of syrup. Chancaca is sold in Latin shops; dark muscovado or piloncillo makes a very good syrup too. Chef's tip: the dough should be very soft and sticky, like a thick batter; resist adding more flour, or the picarones turn heavy and bready.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
- 9 oz pumpkinor butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 9 oz sweet potatopeeled and cubed
- 1 tsp anise seeds
- ¼ oz dried yeast1 sachet
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 13 oz plain flour
- ¼ tsp salt
For the chancaca syrup
- 9 oz chancacaor dark muscovado sugar or piloncillo
- 1 cup water
- 2 strips orange peel
- 4 cloves
For frying
- 4 ¼ cups vegetable oil
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Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Put 9 oz pumpkin, 9 oz sweet potato, 2 star anise and 1 tsp anise seeds in a pan with 600 ml water. Simmer over a medium heat for 15–20 minutes until very soft.
20 minStep 2: Drain, keeping the cooking water, and pick out the star anise. Strain 120 ml of the water into a jug and let it cool to lukewarm (about 99°F, just warm on your wrist). Too hot and it kills the yeast.
Step 3: Stir ¼ oz dried yeast and 1 tbsp sugar into the lukewarm water and leave for 10 minutes until foamy. No foam means the yeast is dead; start again.
10 minStep 4: Mash or blend the squash and sweet potato until completely smooth, then push through a sieve to remove any fibres. Let it cool to lukewarm.
Step 5: In a large bowl mix the purée, the yeast water and ¼ tsp salt. Add 13 oz plain flour gradually, beating with your hand or a wooden spoon for 5–8 minutes. The dough should be smooth, elastic, very soft and sticky, stretching in long strands when lifted.
8 minStep 6: Cover and leave in a warm place for 1½–2 hours, until doubled and full of bubbles.
105 minStep 7: Meanwhile make the syrup: put 9 oz chancaca, 1 cup water, 2 strips orange peel, 1 cinnamon stick and 4 cloves in a pan and simmer over a medium-low heat for 15–20 minutes, until it thickens to the consistency of maple syrup. It thickens more as it cools. Strain and keep warm.
20 minStep 8: Heat 4 ¼ cups vegetable oil to 350°F in a deep, wide pan (a cube of bread should turn golden in 40 seconds). Set a bowl of salted water by the stove for your hands.
Step 9: Wet your hand, grab a lump of dough the size of an egg, push your thumb through to make a ring and drop it into the oil. It takes practice: the first few will be odd shapes, and that's fine. Peruvian cooks use a stick to stretch the hole wider in the oil.
Step 10: Fry 3–4 at a time for 2–3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
15 minStep 11: Serve straight away, 3–4 per plate, drizzled generously with the warm syrup.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 490 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 98 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does picarones take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of sweet potato?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of star anise?
- ½ tsp aniseeds or fennel seeds per star.
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