Fried Dough Balls with fiery Salsa

This is a great starter, or simply share with friends, just add a lovely bottle of crisp white wine, good conversation, and possibly a sunset…

Dough balls:

450g white flour

1 teaspoon yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

150ml warm water

Salsa:

6 red chillies, deseeded and chopped, roughly

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves

2.5cm piece of root ginger, roughly chopped

450g tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

pinch of sugar

seasoning

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well in the centre and add the parsley, garlic, oil and enough warm water to make a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 – 10 minutes until the dough feels smooth and elastic. Brush with a little olive oil and cover with plastic film. Leave in a warm place to prove until doubled in size (should be about an hour)

Meanwhile, in Salsa-land…

Put the chillies, onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor, or blender, and process until finely chopped. Add the tomatoes and olive oil and process until smooth. Rub the mixture through a sieve into a pan. Add the sugar and seasoning. Warm through gently and simmer for 1 minute, taking care not to allow the salsa to boil.

Balls! Lets get back to them…

Shape the dough into about 40 walnut-sized balls. Heat 4 cm oil in a large heavy pan. To test the oil is hot enough to cook the balls, drop a cube of bread into the oil and if it turns golden brown in a minute you are cooking!

Fry the balls in batches (how many depends on the size of your pan!) for 4-5 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with the salsa.