Paparajotes

The spring sweet of the Murcian huerta: single lemon leaves dipped in a light batter, fried, and rolled in sugar and cinnamon, the leaf pulled away and left on the plate

Origin: Murcia & the Huerta de Murcia, Spain

From the journey of Lemon.

Paparajotes are the sweet of the huerta of Murcia and the Campo de Cartagena, the irrigated plain of south-eastern Spain where the lemon has been grown since the Middle Ages. Each is a single leaf from a lemon tree, dipped in a batter of flour, egg, milk, sugar, and lemon zest, fried in olive oil until puffed and golden, and rolled in sugar and cinnamon. The leaf is not eaten. You hold it by the stalk, pull the fritter away with your teeth, and leave the leaf behind; its oils have already done their work, scenting the batter from the inside with a perfume of lemon that zest alone cannot give. It is a sweet of the country kitchen, made from what the huerta had to hand, and it belongs above all to the Fiestas de Primavera, the spring festival of the city of Murcia in the week after Easter. During that week the peñas huertanas, the associations that keep the customs of the huerta alive, set up their barracas, the thatched cottages of the old countryside, in the squares and gardens of the city and serve its food there. On the Tuesday, at the parade called the Bando de la Huerta, paparajotes are handed out from the floats alongside sausages, beans, and wine, and they appear again at the city's September fair. The leaves must come from trees that have not been sprayed, which is one reason paparajotes remain a home and festival food rather than a shop one. Murcia is well placed to supply them: the region grows more than half of Spain's lemons, most of them of its native Fino and Verna varieties.

Ingredients

Leaves

  • 24 fresh, unsprayed lemon leaves with their stalks

Batter

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 lemon, zest finely grated
  • 150 ml whole milk
  • 150 g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 pinch fine salt

To Fry

  • Mild olive oil, for frying

Coating

  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Wash the lemon leaves and dry them thoroughly on a cloth.
  2. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and lemon zest, then whisk in the milk. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to a smooth batter about as thick as double cream. Leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  3. Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the coating in a shallow dish.
  4. Heat a 3 cm depth of olive oil in a wide pan to 175°C, or until a drop of batter rises at once with steady bubbles.
  5. Holding a leaf by its stalk, dip it in the batter so that both sides are coated, let the excess drip back, and lower it into the oil. Fry a few at a time for 1 to 2 minutes a side, until puffed and golden.
  6. Lift out, drain for a moment on kitchen paper, and roll in the cinnamon sugar while still hot.
  7. Serve warm. Hold each one by the stalk, pull the fritter away from the leaf, and leave the leaf.

Notes

Use leaves only from lemon trees you know have not been treated with pesticides; organic garden trees are ideal. Large, flat, unblemished leaves hold the most batter. The batter can be made an hour ahead and kept cool; whisk it briefly before using. Paparajotes are best within a few minutes of frying. They soften as they cool.

The Gastrographer

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