Oliebollen

Oliebollen (ball-shaped fried pastry with raisins) are a typical Dutch treat, tradionally eaten at new years eve.
There are several theories about the origin of the oliebol. One of them is that the ancient Frisians and Batavians ate them as a sacrifice to the German goddess Perchta. Perchta was believed to cut open the stomachs of ‘bad people’. They believed that her sword would slip off their bellies because of the greasy oliebollen they ate. The period in which this goddess of vengeance was supposed to operate, was from the 25th of December until the 6th of January, also known as ‘Joeltijd’. That’s probably why we eat it at new years eve.
Much more can be told about Perchta and the Dutch traditions that originate from her, but I’ll stick to the oliebol here.

Ingredients:

200 grams of hydrated raisins
4 dl of lukewarm milk
1 sachet of dry yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
500 grams of flower
2-3 teaspoons of salt
1 egg
oil to deep-fry


Directions:


Mix the yeast with the milk and sugar and leave it for about 10 minutes.
Sift the salt with the flower.
Make a ditch in the middle of the flower and break the egg in the ditch.
Add the mixed yeast to the flower and beat it with a mixer for several minutes until the dough falls of the mixer in pieces (if necessary add some tablespoons of milk).
Add the raisins and mix them through the dough.
Cover the dough and leave it to rise for about an hour.

Heat the oil until it’s hot enough (throw in a little piece of the dough. When it come floating up to the surface, the temperature is right).
Use two oiled tablespoons (or a spoon that’s used for scraping ice-cream) to put a ball of dough in the oil.
Turn them around after 3 minutes and fry them for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Depending on the pan you’re using fry 5 to 8 balls at a time. The oliebollen need some space to ‘swim around’.
Serve with powdered sugar.