It is Carnival Weekend today, until Ash Wednesday. This weekend is Carnival celebrated allover the world. This year, because of the Corona pandemic it is hardly restricted everywhere.

But let’s not hang down our heads, let’s bake a carnival special. This is an almost forgotten sweet dish from my wife’s homeland, Limburg in the Netherlands. She grew up with it and always remembers it. With this post I like to warm up her memory and motivate her to bake this specialty for us.

Don’t mix up this specialty „Nonnevotte“ with other, also very tasty, Dutch snacks like Oliebollen, Frikandellen, Bitterballen and others. Nonnevotte are totally different !!
Here my story about:   The Limburg’s Nonnevotte – Enjoy !

Usually five days before and after the weekend of February 11th, in a myriad of activities. The party starts on Thursday and ends the morning of Ash Wednesday. In the province of Limburg especially, carnival is a colorful revelry of non-stop music, dancing, laughter and drinking, five days long. If you want to see what Limburg’s carnival is all about, check out the excellent documentary „Nao Ut Zuuje“, about carnival in the city of Venlo.

As you can imagine, all that physical energy has to be fed and maintained somehow – and in the southeastern part of the province, it’s the deep fried Nonnevotte that provide that much needed fuel. The combination of grease, sugar, carbs and warmth provide enough energy to keep going, especially when it’s cold outside. And with carnival being so early this year, it’s bound to be a chilly one ! It’s freezing cold out there now !

It is a pastry originally from the Dutch town of Sittard, province of Limburg. It dates back to sometime in the 1600’s. Nuns were very present in those days and the Franciscan Sisters had a convent in Sittard. So they are the ones who introduced the pastry to people. They gave the pastry to people who brought in old clothes etc. and the proceeds then went to the poor people. A pastry for a good cause.

The nuns baked the Nonnevotte in oil and to protect their clothes they wore an apron that was tied nicely at the back of their butt. The roundness of the ass and the bow corresponded to the cake, round with a bow and so the pastries were popularly called Nonnevotte. Nonnevotte are traditionally eaten with carnival and New Year’s Eve but you can get them all year round nowadays in Limburg.

Nonnevotte, for many a strange name and perhaps you do not even know the pastry. Therefore a word of explanation. Nonnevot is dialect for ass ( vot ) of a nun. They are sometimes called bows or poeffele but when you say Nonnevot, everyone knows what you are talking about.

  Already in the old cookbook from Gent 1877, you can find the Nonnevot recipe, baked with „Maizena-Flour“.

In the old days, these knots were great for using up the last of the perishable ingredients before Lent kicked in, but they proved to be so popular that they can be found in bakeries year round. Nonnevotte are best eaten warm and fresh straight from the baker’s store. In Limburg, everyone, politicians, the government, also the Royal Family like Nonnevotte !

A Nonnevot is a pastry that is baked in sunflower oil and after baking is immediately rolled in sugar before being served. No, it is not an Oliebol, those are also delicious but not comparable to a Nonnevot. Nonnevotte are much airier and fluffy, while an Oliebol is slightly firmer. They are also very different in taste.

Above in this picture are Oliebolle, below are left Waffels and right Nonnevotte.

So, although we don’t dress up anymore, we are not dancing any polonaises anytime soon, or even engage in loud song singing while dressed in a colorful costume and on, but we can honor this traditional festivity by frying Nonnevotte. Just because we are not a part of the carnival festivities back home, here in Uruguay, doesn’t mean we have to forget all pleasures. Time to whip up a batch of dough and fry up some sugary, doughy goodies!

Nonnevotte Recipe.

Ingredients.

1 kg flour
100 grams fresh yeast or 50 grams dry yeast
200 grams real soft butter
3.5 dl lukewarm milk
100 grams of sugar
2 eggs
5 grams of salt
about 1/2 kg of granulated sugar to roll in the „vot’s“.

Deep fryer or frying pan for stove top.
Best is sunflower oil – never use frying fat !!!
As better your ingredients are, as better the“votten“ taste.

How to do.

Mix the yeast with the milk and set aside.

Put the flour, butter, sugar, salt and eggs in the Kitchen-aid and let the machine run for a while on a low setting. Now add the milk with the yeast in a stream and let the machine knead until you have obtained a supple but firm dough.

Let the dough rise for about an hour in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp clean towel.  Let the dough rise in a warm draft-free place or  put it in the oven at 35°C. You will see that the dough will rise tremendously.

Limburg’s bakeries are baking Nonnevotte for many centuries.

After an hour of rising, take the dough and weigh out balls of 50 grams each. Roll each ball out into an oblong roll and tie one end under the other so you get a bow. Place the Nonnevotte on baking sheets that you grease with sunflower oil. This prevents them from sticking when you bake them.

Let them rise for another half hour in a draft-free place.

Meanwhile, heat the oil 150 to 160 ° C and fry the Nonnevotte. They are cooked and ready fairly quickly. When they are golden brown, turn them and when the other side is golden brown, about 1 minute each side, take them out of the oil. Immediately roll them through the sugar and let them cool like this.  Enjoy them warm !!

Tips.

The most important thing, I think, is that you bake the Nonnevotte in Sunflower oil. You can use an old large pan or a frying pan but never fry them in frying fat! This puts a white layer of fat over your Nonnevotte and the taste of frying fat is absolutely not good in combination with a Nonnevot. Deep-frying is for fries and snacks but not for pastries.

  Deep frying is not so good for Nonnevotte.

You’ll get about a 35 pieces from the recipe. That’s a good number right away but if you want you can freeze them perfectly. After baking (do not roll them in the sugar) let them cool and then freeze them. If you need them, just warm them in the oven (not microwave) and roll them in the sugar and they are ready to eat.

The Nonnevotte law struggle.

Fat, dry, tough, wrinkled, dark brown, collapsed and an oil smell. A lot can go wrong when making Nonnevotte.

Everyone wants a Nonnevot that will make the five crazy days a celebration. No one is hungry for a bumping tennis ball in their stomach. Making Nonnevotte is top sport, everything has to be in perfect order. Ingredients, with which the dough is made. The temperature in the bakery and of the oil. And the baker must be able to make a festive Nonnevot smoothly and with feeling.

News are asking bystanders what they think/judge about winning Nonnevotten

You can make a Nonnevot quickly, but a top Nonnevot requires more,“ say judges Miel Duisings and Ron Ossendrijver. They judged the Nonnevotte of the 40 Limburg bakers, who participated in the competition of the two Limburg newspapers for the best Limburg Nonnevotte. And number one, the winner, was Bakkerij Broekmans.

The jury comments, of the top 3 winners of the competition, can’t be translated well !! So, my dear friends, you have to read it in Dutch now ! Good luck !!

Top 3 !

1. Thijs Broekmans, Panningen. 
   Topper met zijn prachtig goudgele kleur, zij stevige en gelijkmatige vorm. ,,Blij word je van deze nonnevot.” De jury is unaniem in zijn lof. ,,De bakker heeft laten zien dat hij het strikken maken in de vingers heeft. Zowel dubbel als enkel gestrikte nonnevotten. Kunstig en smaakvol.” Aroma en afbeet zijn zoals het hoort. ,,Hij smelt als het ware op de tong.”
2.  Hannen, Herten. 
   Goede vorm hoewel hier en daar wat compact. ,,Maar het blijft een engeltje op de tong. Smelt lekker weg en is heerlijk luchtig van smaak.” Als de bakker nog wat meer op de details let en de puntjes nog iets meer op de i zet dan is deze nonnevot  volgend jaar ,,vrijwel zeker een groot kampioen”. 
3. Rob Janssen, Elsloo.
   Fraaie goudgele kleur, een egale bilnaad, die er mag zijn en een zorgvuldig gesuikerd met een subtiel vanillesmaakje erin. ,,Kunstig, soepel en zorgvuldig gestrikt.”

One of my favorites – the variety – a Nonnevot filled with pudding ! Mouthwatering, but not original !

Enjoy warm or cold, have wonderful, fun and safe New Years Eve or Carnival!