Pršurate

Returning to my theme of Christmas in San Pedro, California, two Croatian treats come to mind: hrustule and pršurate. While we enjoyed the hrustule in the week before Christmas, I saved the pršurate (“purshurata”) for Christmas morning. 

Pršurate are little doughnuts/fritters made with potato, fruit, citrus and a fair amount of brandy or rum, deep-fried then glazed or dusted with sugar. I had made these a couple of times, but not for many years.  On our first trip to Croatia several years ago, on the island of Brač, we were served both of these – the hrustule in our hotel as a welcome, and the pršurate as a treat after cycling to the village of Dol, at a charming inn called Stori Gušti.

This recipe is from my Teta Dolly; the below is cut in half from her original, and still made a couple dozen … so be prepared to eat or give away, they are best slightly warm or at room temperature. They seem to taste better the next day, but don’t last much longer than that.

Watch the oil temperature when frying; while some sources say to have the temperature up to 365-375F, I found that tends to cook the outside too quickly and leave the interior doughy. 335-350F seemed better (for my high elevation kitchen, 315-325F was best).

• Servings: 24 small doughnuts
• Time: 1 hr 15 min
• Difficulty: moderate
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• 1 medium potato
• 1 green apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely grated
• 1 tbsp grated orange zest
• 1-1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 c raisins or currants
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 c sugar + additional 1/4 c for finishing
• 1/4 c chopped walnuts
• 1/2 banana, peeled and mashed
• 1/4 to 1/3 c brandy or rum
• 2 – 2 1/2 c sifted flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 qt vegetable or canola oil for deep-frying

Cook the potato, peel and mash. (Microwaving works well, prick the potato with a form and microwave until tender, 5-7 minutes. Let cool, then peel.) Blend mashed potato with the apple, orange and lemon zest, raisins, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, walnuts, and banana.

Sift 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder. Blend into the mixture alternately with the brandy. The finished dough will be soft and slightly sticky.

You may refrigerate the dough overnight, covered in plastic wrap. Return to room temperature before proceeding.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan (3-4 qt), to about 350F. (If you are at high elevation, use a lower temperature, about 320-325F.) Drop small spoonfuls into the oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Drain briefly on a paper towel, then sprinkle with sugar. (Tip: Put the doughnuts into a large ziploc bag with 1/4-1/2 c sugar, seal, and shake to coat.)

© Liza Weissler lizasworldkitchen.wordpress.com 2016, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International License.