Fritters (Bunyols de les Verges)

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add the butter and mix. Add the sugar and stir by hand until dissolved. Now add the egg, again stirring by hand until it is fully incorporated. Now add the sweet potato purée (better if it is still warm), stir and gradually add the flour (the amount of flour is a guideline, since how much you’ll need depends on the size of the egg, the type of sweet potato, etc.). You might not need it all. The dough should stick to your hands but still be fairly firm.

Knead the dough for ten minutes. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a cloth and let it rise for a bit. When you see that it has doubled in size, knead again for two or three minutes. Heat a generous amount of oil in a deep frying pan or deep fryer. There should be a lot of it (that’s important!).

While the oil is heating, prepare a bowl for the pastry and a small bowl of water next to the cooker. When the oil is very hot, take some dough with your left hand (use your right hand if you’re left-handed) and squeeze your fist so that the dough forms a ball. Now, wet your right hand, clench your left fist and take the ball of dough with the other hand, bringing your big finger and middle finger together and place the piece of dough into the oil so that a hole is formed in the fritter. Shape and fry the rest. Dip your hand in the water every time you make a fritter. Keep in mind that the fritters get very hot when they are cooked and you should avoid frying too many of them at the same time. There should be space between them so that you can turn them when they are cooked on the bottom.

Once cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon or kitchen tongs, drain them and place them on paper towels. As you remove the cooked fritters from the frying pan, shape them and place them in the oil, ensuring that the frying pan is never empty with only a few or no fritters, otherwise they’ll burn.

As they cook, take out the ones that have already drained onto paper towels and place them on a flat tray. Change the oil-soaked paper towel before adding more fritters. This will keep them from being oily. 

Serve with a saucer of sugar on the side. Everyone can dip their fritters in the sugar to taste.

Recipe from Bojos per la Cuina (Crazy for Cooking), where there is a video explaining how to prepare the recipe.