Moroccan Donuts (Sfenj) With Orange Zest, Honey + Pistachios | Chef Michael Solomonov

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a medium-sized bowl with the 4 tablespoons warm water. Let the yeast starter stand for about 15 minutes until frothy and the yeast starter doubles in size.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the orange zest and salt. Make a small well in the middle of the flour and pour the yeast starter into the well. Incorporate the yeast mixture by making a swirling motion with your fingers in the middle of the well, while slowly streaming in the remaining ¾ cup warm water. Knead the mixture inside of the bowl using the palms of your hands for about 15 minutes until dough is very smooth. Cover with a clean towel and set aside in a warm place to rise until roughly doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.

When the dough has almost finished rising, fill a large pot with the canola oil and heat until it reaches 350˚F on a deep-fry thermometer. With wet hands, lightly punch down the dough to deflate. Pull off a piece of donut batter that is approximately the size of a small egg. Use your thumb to make a hole in the center of the piece of batter. Open the hole with your fingers to form a donut that is approximately 6-inches in diameter. Drop the donut away from you into the pot. Be careful not to crowd the pot (3 donuts at a time is about right) and fry the donuts for 2 minutes on one side, then flip and finish cooking on the other side for 1½ minutes.

Remove the donuts to a cooling rack lined with paper towels to drain. Cool for about 4 minutes and then drizzle each donut with honey and sprinkle with pistachios. Serve immediately, preferably with hot mint tea.