Cheddar Beignets

BY RACHEL GREEN

Ingredients

• 100g mature cheddar, finely grated plus 50g extra to serve
• 100g butter
• 300ml water
• 150g plain flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 Fairburn’s eggs, beaten
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Sunflower oil, for deep-frying

Method:

For the beignets, put the butter, water and sugar into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and add the flour, beating well until you have a smooth ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean. Remove from the heat and cool slightly and stir in the cheddar, followed by the eggs, one at a time, beating all the time until you have a smooth paste. Season with sea salt and black pepper and set aside.

Fill another heavy-based pan one-third full with sunflower oil and place over a moderate heat – do not leave this pan unattended. When the oil is hot, add a spoonful of the pastry to the pan, repeat the process, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 5 minutes or until they are nicely browned and have risen to the surface of the oil.

Remove the beignets with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while you fry the rest of the pastry. Grate more cheese over the beignets while they are still warm. Serve with a little warm redcurrant or quince jelly, they are also good with sweet chilli sauce.