Plant-based Galician-style crunchy fried dough (Orellas de Entroido-inspired) // Carnival food
🌱🎭🎉 Carnival is coming to your kitchen and here are these delicious plant-based crunchy treats to get you started! This yummy recipe is inspired by “Orellas de Entroido (Galician) / Orejas de Carnaval (Spanish)”, which literally means “carnival ears”.
➡️ Orellas de Entroido are very thin fried dough that resembles a pig’s ear in shape, hence the name. They are crunchy, very fragrant, and delicious, served as a dessert during Carnival time in Galicia, northwest Spain. Recipes for Orellas de Entroido can sometimes be slightly different, each Galician family has its own.
💚 Grandma Sita’s tip: Orellas de Entroido last for about a week, very crunchy in a container if it is tightly closed.
🎭 Pottery mask piece of a Cigarrón, honoring popular carnival tradition in Galicia by Sargadelos, made in Galicia, Spain.
🎭 Venetian mask handcrafted in paper-mâché according to the original Venice Carnival tradition by master artisans, made in Venice, Italy.
INGREDIENTS
250g flour
100ml oat drink
25ml anise extract
1 tablespoon of fruit jam (optional)
50g margarine or plant-based butter
A pinch of salt
Veggie oil, for frying
Lemon peel in strips, for frying
Unrefined cane sugar, for sprinkling
Cinnamon powder, for sprinkling (optional)
Tip: you can simply double the ingredients to make more units.
METHOD
1. Mix the oat drink (slightly hot) with the salt, peach jam, and anise extract.
2. In a large bowl, put the flour, make a hole in the middle, and pour the oat mixture there.
3. Mix all the ingredients, add the melted margarine, and knead until the dough doesn’t stick.
4. Then let it rest for approx. an hour, the secret of this dough is rest.
5. Make small portions (about the size of a walnut) and roll them as thin as possible into a slightly rectangular elongated shape. By pinching the dough on one side, you will get the shape of an ear (optional).
Tip: roll them out onto baking paper to make it easier, although the dough should not stick to the worktop. If they come out thick, they will be not crunchy like fried toast.
6. Low heat the veggie oil and add the lemon peels in strips without the white parts. Leave them on the heat for 2 minutes and then remove them.
7. Put each thin dough ear in heated oil, you will see that beautiful bubbles will immediately form. 8. Fry until they acquire a golden color on both sides. Remove and place them onto kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.
9. When they have cooled, sprinkle them with granulated unrefined cane sugar and serve them as a dessert, an afternoon snack, or a morning breakfast. Bon appetite!
DID YOU KNOW?
In Galicia, the Carnival (O Entroido) has a long tradition. It is celebrated throughout the community, although the province of Ourense is the undisputed queen. In it is the «magic triangle» that includes the municipalities of Xinzo, Laza, and Verín, with an ancient tradition of rural carnival with its typical characters such as Peliqueiros and Cigarróns among others.