Dreams are not sacred-sonhos de carne

Don´t we all love doughnuts ? Even when you’re watching your waistline, it’s hard to resist these soft, pillowy, deep-fried "rings" of doughy goodness. As far as I know, doughnuts in some form exist in every culture and there’s a simple reason for that. They’re effing delicious. I’ve never bitten into a doughnut I didn’t like. It’s a universally beloved comfort food, one that never fails to bring a smile to people’s faces. Even hearing the word “doughnut” makes me happy. So in the season of bringing good cheer to 
people reading this blog, I´ve created a recipe specially for you.
If someone asks you to draw a doughnut (or donut as those across the pond call it ), then you’d probably sketch something that looks like a ring. A sweet ring of fried dough is usually the first thing that comes to mind when people think of donuts. It’s the most common type but it’s not just the only 
one.

While doughnuts are indeed made with deep-fried dough, they aren’t always shaped like rings nor do they have to be sweet. They can be savoury like Ukrainian garlicky pampushky, and Indian vada made with potato. They can be shaped like ridged cigars in the form of Spanish churros.In summary, doughnuts are deep-fried pastries that can be made in a seemingly endless variety of shapes, sizes, 
flavours, and fillings.
Its the party season and what better way to feed a room full of guests than by passing round platters 
of sonhos ,warm from the pan.

One of my favourite moments of this last year was at cookery school the day we made sonhos.
If you are not Portuguese, sonhos (dreams) are heavenly orbs of fried dough that are similar to beignets or doughnuts yet easier to make. Crisp outside, airy inside,and with the perfect sweetness from a quick roll through cinnamon sugar. A Portuguese classic.     I fell in love with these dreams, but at the back of my mind, having more of a savoury palate than a sweet tooth, thought why not savoury sonhos.... meat dreams. Two words: meat doughnut. Yes, you read correctly. It's a quite a thing, and it's utterly delicious.
Adapting the recipe chef Jorge had taught us at school i made a sonhos dough replacing the sugar content with cooked meat.I used acombination of pork and veal mince and chicken.( recipe below )
Generally speaking, the little bite size fried cakes are intended for Christmas time, although given their popularity, they´re commonly made at other times as well, and some speciality patisseries sell them freshly made on a daily basis with lines around the block.

Sonhos de carne (Meat doughnuts)

Once made,they should be eaten while still warm,although they can be made in advnce and frozen,defrosted and crisped up in ahot oven for about 12 to 15 minutes.

makes 36

Meat

100g de minced meat,a mixture of chicken, pork and veal or beef (previously cooked)
50g de chouriço without its skin an finely chopped.

1 tablespoon regular flour

1 tablespoon of butter
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
100ml of milk
2 yolks

Dough
250ml of hot water
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon of butter
200g unbleached wheat flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon yeast

1. For the dough: in a saucepan, place the 250ml of water with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of butter. When it boils add 200g of unleavened wheat flour and stir vigorously until it is cooked. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
2. Prepare the meat: in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add 1 tablespoon of wheat flour, two egg yolks and stir until slightly cooked. Pour 100ml of milk, continue stirring with the sticks.
3. As soon as the mixture is slightly dry, add 100g of meat (chicken, pork and beef), chopped and cooked, and 50g of chorizo. Stir for another minute and remove from heat.
4. Combine the two preparations in the bowl of a kneader. While kneading on a medium/low setting, add 4 eggs, one at a time, 1 tsp yeast and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. The consistency should be smooth and shiny.
5. Heat the oil: 5 cm high, in a deep fryer. Check the temperature which should be at 150°C.
6. With the oil hot, add a tablespoon of the mixture at a time. Do not add too many at the same time so that the oil does not cool down. Fry until the donuts are golden.be patient as they cook very slowly and don´t be tempted to turn the heat up.Each batch can take up to 8 minutes to achieve agolden colour.