Savory Cheese Beignets Recipes

SAVORY BEIGNETS

Steps:

• Place water and butter in large saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Add flour and salt; mix well. Reduce heat to low; cook until mixture forms a ball, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Add eggs, one at a time, stirring until well blended after each addition. Stir in cheese.
• Heat oil in heavy 3-qt.saucepan or deep-fryer on medium heat to 350°F. Carefully add rounded teaspoonfuls of batter, a few at a time, to hot oil. Cook until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

GRUYERE-AND-PARMESAN BEIGNETS

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium-high heat, bring 1 cup water and butter just to a boil. Whisk in flour and stir with a spatula to blend completely. Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
• Add cheeses and mix on high speed until well combined. With mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition; season with salt. Transfer batter to refrigerator and let chill for 30 minutes.
• Drop tablespoon-size balls of batter about 1-inch apart onto 12-by-2-inch pieces of parchment paper; refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days. Beignets may also be frozen for up to 1 month.
• Fill a large heavy-bottomed pot 4 inches high with oil. Heat oil until it reaches 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, carefully place entire piece of parchment into hot oil. Using tongs, carefully remove parchment from oil and discard. Fry beignets until golden and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

BLUE CRAB BEIGNETS

Steps:

• Beignet batter: In a mixing bowl, whisk baking powder, cornstarch, salt, and flour to combine. Gradually whisk in beer and continue stirring until no lumps remain and the batter yields a ribbony texture. Set aside.
• Crab filling: In a bowl, mix mascarpone, chives, and shallot until thoroughly combined. Season with salt to taste. Fold in the crab meat, separating without breaking up the individual lumps, and gently mix just to combine. Chill for 10-15 minutes. (In the meantime, prepare the aioli: see Step 4 for instructions.)
• Frying the beignets, part 1: Fill a heavy-bottomed cast-iron pot ¾ full with peanut oil (about 3 cups) and heat oil to 375 F. Roll 1-1½ tablespoon-sized balls of the crab mixture and use a spoon to drop them on top of the beer batter. Make sure the oil is ready by dropping in a few beads of batter to see if they fry.
• Frying the beignets, part 2: When the oil is ready, gently roll the crab balls in the batter to coat completely; leaving holes will cause the mascarpone to melt out. Lift the balls from the batter and let them slide off the spoon into the oil. Fry until crisp and deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. (You may have to fry in batches.) As you fry, continually adjust the heat to keep the temperature at 375 F.When the beignets are done, use the spider strainer to place them on paper towels to drain. Prepare a serving plate with a layer of aioli; place beignets on the aioli, sprinkle with flaky salt, and serve with lemon slices. Aioli recipe: Roughly chop garlic clove on cutting board; add ½ tablespoon salt and use the back of a knife to repeatedly press the garlic and salt together to make a paste. Place in a bowl along with a squeeze of lemon and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Whisk in 2 egg yolks, then slowly drizzle in a ½ cup olive oil, whisking the entire time until emulsified and creamy. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

SAVORY CHEESE BEIGNETS

Steps:

• add water and butter to a pot. Bring pot to boil then add flour and salt and mix until a ball forms stirring all.
• Remove from heat and add egg on at a time stirring very very well, then add cheese.
• Deep fry in hot oil, around 350 F, by large TBS until browned.

BEIGNETS

Steps:

• Mix together the yeast, flour, sugar and 1 tsp sea salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together the evaporated milk and egg and tip into the bowl with the melted butter and 60ml just-boiled water. Knead on a medium speed for 2 mins in the stand mixer, or for 5 mins on a lightly floured work surface, until smooth. Shape the dough into a ball and put in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and chill for 8-24 hrs.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a roughly 20 x 25cm rectangle about 1cm thick. Cut into 20 x 5cm squares.
• Pour the oil into a deep stock pot or saucepan, so it is no deeper than one-third full. Or, use a deep-fat fryer. Heat the oil to 175C. Line a baking tray with kitchen paper. Fry the beignets in batches for 3 mins, turning occasionally with tongs, until puffed up and golden brown. Lift the beignets onto the paper to drain, then move to a wire rack, dust generously with icing sugar and serve warm.

SAVORY BUCKWHEAT BEIGNETS

Steps:

• Blend yeast with 2 tablespoons milk, the sugar and egg in bowl of electric mixer. When mixture is bubbly, add remaining milk, buckwheat flour, bread flour and salt, and mix with a dough hook at low speed until dough is elastic. Add butter a tablespoon at a time, and mix well to make a soft, springy dough.
• Transfer dough to lightly buttered bowl, cover, and refrigerate until doubled, about 3 hours. Remove from refrigerator and punch down.
• Dust work surface with buckwheat flour, and roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into rounds 1 inch in diameter or into 2-by- 1/2-inch rectangles. Scraps can be rerolled. Allow cut dough to rest 30 minutes.
• Heat oil to 300 degrees in a deep pan. Fry beignets in small batches until brown, about 30 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels, and cool 10 minutes before serving, with caviar and creme fraiche, if desired.