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Pristiños
Pristiños: crisp fried pastry rings with spiced panela syrup for an Andean Christmas
In Quito and Riobamba, pristiños come out at Christmas and for the Novena gatherings before it: thin rings of orange-scented pastry fried until blistered and shatteringly crisp, then drenched in hot panela syrup flavoured with cinnamon and cloves. They are eaten warm with a mug of hot chocolate or coffee. The common mistake is frying in oil that isn't hot enough, which leaves them greasy and pale; keep it at 175 °C. Chef's tip: roll the dough really thin, about 2 mm, so it puffs into bubbles and stays crisp under the syrup.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 ⅛ oz cold butterdiced
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup orange juiceplus a little water if needed
- ½ tsp aniseed (optional)crushed
- 1 litre sunflower oilfor deep-frying
For the syrup (miel de panela)
- 10 ½ oz panela or dark brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 3 cloves
- 1 strip orange peel
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What you'll need
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 10 ½ oz panela or dark brown sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cloves and 1 strip orange peel in a small pan and simmer gently until the panela dissolves and the syrup thickens slightly, like runny honey.
15 minStep 2: Mix 10 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 pinch salt and ½ tsp aniseed. Rub in 2 ⅛ oz cold butter until it looks like breadcrumbs, then add 1 egg and ¼ cup orange juice and knead briefly into a smooth, soft dough. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
20 minStep 3: Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 2 mm thick. Cut into strips 2 cm wide and 25 cm long, and bring the ends of each strip together into a ring, pressing to seal.
Step 4: Heat 1 litre sunflower oil in a deep pan to 350°F, or until a scrap of dough sizzles and floats at once. Fry 2–3 rings at a time for 1–2 minutes per side, until golden and blistered.
12 minStep 5: Drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm on a plate with the hot syrup poured over, or with the syrup in a jug for dipping.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pristiños take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 30 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 vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
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