Gboflotos: A Sweet TrEAT Cote D’Ivoire and Holland Have In Common

Hailing from Cote D’Ivoire, I spent many of my teenage days snacking on yummy street foods ranging from alloco (fried plantains) to pain-brochette (beef kebab sandwiches), choukouya (chopped grilled meat) and poulet braise (barbecued chicken) among many others.

Today’s story began last night when I was taken by an intense feeling of nostalgia as I reminisced about the warm Ivorian weather and all the delicious food I used to eat back in Abidjan.  Sigh… In this cold and depressing New York winter exacerbated by homesickness, what’s a better way to get over the nostalgic blue than to indulge some of my guilty pleasures from the homeland? By that, I mean devouring a generous plate of Gboflotos, one of my favorite Ivorian sweet treats.

I wasn’t planning to write about my Gbofloto making experience on The Thrifty Gourmet, but I was left with no other choice after updating my Facebook status to “Rae is making Gboflotos.” Much to my surprise, this spurred a rather active wall conversation where I learned that Gboflotos are something Cote D’Ivoire and Holland have in common. In fact, a friend from high school wrote that she gets them every morning from a street vendor in The Hague. The Dutch version, which is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve and at street fairs, is called Oliebollen (oil balls). How cool is that? Anyway, for those of you who are still wondering, Gboflotos are fried dough balls that resemble the Louisiana beignets, except the Ivorian recipe doesn’t include eggs, milk and shortening.

Here’s my personal recipe for those who want to make it:

Preparation time: 15 mins
Rest time: 2-4 hrs
Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

2 Cups of flour
2 Cups of warm water
1 Heaping teaspoon of active dry yeast
1 Teaspoon of salt
3 Heaping tablespoons of sugar
1 Teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (optional)
Vegetable oil for frying

First, I activate the yeast by mixing it with ½ cup of warm water until the granules are dissolved. Then I add one tablespoon of sugar. Why? Because this feeds the yeast and causes it to grow faster.

After mixing all the dry ingredients in a bowl, I pour the yeast liquid over them with my left hand and use my right hand to mix the dough.

I continue to mix by hand and gradually add the rest of the water with until I obtain a homogenous paste. Depending on my mood, I may choose to add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract at this point. Since most African cooking is done from the soul, there is no set rule for the amount of water to be used. I play with the dough until my heart, my hands and the sound of the bubbles forming tell me I’ve attained the perfect consistency.  A few things worth keeping in mind are that a thick dough makes dense gboflotos (me no like) and a lighter one results in light and fluffier gboflotos (right on!).  Sometimes, there are small lumps in the dough, but I’ve learned not to worry about them because they all dissolve during the rest period.

Now it’s time to cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest in a warm place for 2-4 hours until it expands and bubbles form. To ensure that no air gets in, I usually place a heavy plate on top of the towel.

After the dough has risen, it’s time to fry it. Back in Abidjan, the frying is done in a round bottom pan. Here, the closest thing I can find to that is a wok. So that’s what I use. I fry the Gboflotos in batches of 6-8 until golden brown on each side…

When they’re done, I drain them on a paper towel, then I dust them with powdered sugar…  Voila! The end result is 100% Abidjan Joie de Vivre for less than $10.00.

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