Smoked Eel and Beetroot Jam Doughnut

Josh Niland

Josh Niland

28th October 2019
Josh Niland

Smoked Eel and Beetroot Jam Doughnut

30 min

This savoury mouthful of smoke, salt, sweet, sour and creaminess is such a great way to start
a meal, or even for a snack when only a doughnut will do.

MAKES APPROXIMATELY 30 DOUGHNUTS

Ingredients

Smoked eel filling

  • 2 waxy potatoes, such as desiree, peeled and quartered 50 g (1¾ oz/¼ cup) fine salt ½ hot-smoked eel, skin and bones reserved and flesh mashed finely with a fork
  • 250 g (9 oz/1 cup) sour cream sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper lemon juice, to taste pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Beetroot puree

  • 1 large red beetroot (beet), tops off sea salt flakes 11/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 lemon thyme sprigs 80 g (2¾ oz/1/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar 50 ml (1¾ fl oz) red-wine vinegar

Doughnuts

  • 30 g (1 oz) fresh yeast 135 ml (4½ fl oz) water 525 g (1 lb 3 oz/31/2 cups) baker’s or strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) full-cream (whole) milk 85 g (3 oz/1/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar 115 g (4 oz) egg yolks
  • 60 g (2 oz) ghee, melted 2 teaspoons salt 2 litres (68 fl oz/8 cups) cottonseed or sunflower oil, for deep-frying

Method

filling

To make the filling, add the potatoes, salt and skin and bones from the smoked
eel, if available, to a large saucepan filled with water and bring to the boil. Cook
until the potato is completely soft, then drain, discarding the skin and bones.
Push the potato through a sieve and cool until warm.
Add the mashed eel flesh and sour cream to the potato with a little salt, pepper
and lemon juice to taste and combine well.
Transfer the mixture to a piping
(icing) bag fitted with a fine tip nozzle and chill.

beetroot puree

preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Place the beetroot in the centre of a square of aluminium foil, season lightly
with salt, olive oil and the thyme sprigs and bake for 40 minutes, or until
completely soft.
While hot, peel the skin off and cut into quarters, then blitz in
a food processor or blender to a fine puree. Pass through a sieve and set aside.
Melt the sugar in a small pan for 8 minutes, or until it starts to become very dark.
Add the vinegar and cook to melt the sugar again. Add the beetroot puree and
cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes to thicken. Cool completely, then
transfer to a piping bag fitted with a fine tip nozzle and set aside.

doughnuts

mix 15 g (½ oz) of the fresh yeast, the water and
150 g (5½ oz/1 cup) of the baker’s flour together in a bowl until they are
just combined. Leave for 2 hours at room temperature.
In a stand mixer bowl, combine the milk with the remaining yeast and leave for
1 minute.
Add the remaining ingredients except the oil together with the first
yeast mix and mix with the dough hook attachment for 5–7 minutes until the
dough is shiny and well combined.
Cover and leave to rise in the refrigerator
overnight until it has doubled in size.
The next day, lightly flour a baking tray. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured
work surface and roll out to 1.5 cm (1/2 in) thickness. Using a 4 cm (1½ in) ring
cutter, cut out circles and transfer them to the floured tray. Chill for 1 hour.
Heat the oil for deep-frying in a large, heavy-based saucepan until the
temperature reaches 180°C (350°F). Using a slotted spoon, deep-fry a few
doughnuts at a time on each side for 1–1½ minutes until golden brown and
the centre is light and fluffy.
Drain on paper towel.
Make a small hole in the top of each doughnut and fill with the filling to just
below the top, then top it off by piping in a little beetroot puree. Serve warm.

ALTERNATIVE FISH

Smoked anchovy
Smoked herring
Smoked sardine

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.