Oliebollen are a Dutch New Years Eve tradition and their origin dates back toGermanic tribes hundreds of years ago. My first memories of eating oliebollen was as a 6yr old in the Australian bush, my Oma & Opa (Granddad & Grandmother) made them on a camping trip! They were of course very different than anything anyone had ever had and it was one of those moments that my Opa always could recall every year.
When we moved to the Netherlands he used to cook them on New Years Eve and be proud to announce each year how many he had made and how fantastic they were. He did make a good oliebol and a nice appel version, although I prefer the basic classic oliebol.
And yes this is one of those recipes that if you would have know years back you would have never gone out and bought oliebollen ever again. Home made oliebollen are just better, nothing beats an oliebol fried in fresh oil. If your up to it check your pantry and whip up a batch for tonight!
Ingredients (makes about 15)
250gr flour
2tsp salt
1/2 egg
200 ml milk lukewarm
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
50gr raisins (can be omitted)
sunflower oil
icing sugar
Method
Sift the flower and salt in a big bowl, make a well and add the egg, milk and yeast and stir. Beat the batter for a couple of minutes with a spoon until, once the batter starts falling off the spoon in pieces then it’s perfect. Rinse the raisins, pat dry and add to the batter. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and set aside for an hour to rise.
Heat oil to about 170 C. To make the oliebollen use 2 spoons dipped in oil to scoop out balls of the batter. Let the batter glide slowly into the oil and fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Don’t fry too many at the same time as the temperature will drop. Serve the oliebollen on a plate with poedersuiker (icing sugar )!
Lisa – is the owner of Cookfolio. Lisa is a blogger and self confessed web junkie. Originally from Australia Lisa has been living in The Hague for over 20 years. You can find Lisa online at: lisarouissi.com & on Twitter @koffiekitten. If you have an idea or a question get in touch.
