Verguny (вергуни, fried dough twists)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A wide heavy pot or deep saute pan
• •A rolling pin
• •A pastry wheel or sharp knife
• •A spider skimmer or slotted spoon
• •A cooling rack
• •A sugar sifter

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dough

   Whisk the eggs, sour cream, sugar, melted butter, salt, and vanilla if using. Stir in the horilka if you want the crisper, drier bite, then add the flour and mix until you have a firm dough. It should feel smooth and a little stubborn, not sticky. If it smears onto your hands, add flour by the spoonful.

2. 2

   Rest it

   Knead the dough until it comes together cleanly and loses its rough edges, then cover it with a bowl or wrap and leave it to rest for at least half an hour. This rest is not decoration. It lets the flour drink and the gluten relax, so later the dough rolls thin instead of snapping back like a bad mood.

   You can chill the dough for several hours, but let it soften a little before rolling. Cold dough is obedient in theory and annoying in practice.
3. 3

   Roll and cut

   Divide the dough into four pieces and keep the rest covered while you work. Roll one piece on a lightly floured surface until it is thin, about the thickness of a postcard, and cut it into strips about 3cm wide and 10cm long. Cut a slit down the middle of each strip, leaving the ends intact.

4. 4

   Twist each strip

   Take one end of the strip, push it through the slit, and pull gently so the dough turns inside itself. That little fold is the whole charm. Don't tug it tight; leave the twist loose enough that the hot oil can move around it and puff the edges.

5. 5

   Heat the oil

   Pour the sunflower oil into a wide, heavy pot so it comes at least 5cm deep. Heat it until a scrap of dough drops in and rises at once with lively bubbles around it. The oil should sound bright, not angry. If the scrap darkens before you can count a few breaths, lower the heat.

6. 6

   Fry in batches

   Slip in a few twists at a time, without crowding the pot. They will sink for a moment, float, blister, and turn pale gold. Turn them once. Listen: when the fierce bubbling quiets and the smell changes from wet flour to warm biscuit, lift them out with a spider or slotted spoon.

   The color should be gold, not brown. Verguny keep crispness through thinness, not through hard frying.
7. 7

   Sugar them

   Drain the verguny on a rack or paper towels, then sift icing sugar over them while they are still faintly warm. Be generous. They should look like a winter window after the first proper frost.

8. 8

   Serve the bowl

   Pile them high in a wide bowl or on a large platter and serve the same day, when the edges are still crisp under the sugar. If they soften later, don't scold them. A few minutes in a low oven wakes them up again.

Chef Tips

• •Refined sunflower oil is right for frying because it can take the heat. Save the green unrefined sunflower oil, Ukraine in a bottle of oil, for salads and finishing.
• •The dough rest and thin rolling decide the dish. The exact strip size forgives you; thick dough does not.
• •A spoonful of horilka or vodka helps the pastry fry crisper because alcohol evaporates quickly. Leave it out if you like; the verguny will still disappear from the bowl.
• •Use a thermometer if it calms you: around 175C is useful. Still watch the dough and listen to the oil, because every pot and burner has its own temper.
• •Do not cover them tightly while warm. Trapped moisture softens the crisp edges you worked for.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can be mixed and rested in the fridge up to 24 hours ahead. Let it sit at room temperature until it rolls without cracking.
• •Verguny are best fried the day you serve them. Store leftovers loosely covered, then re-crisp briefly in a low oven before sugaring again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 15g)