Hunt for The Golden Balls

There is a legendary and very rare pastry made in Corsica. “Golden balls” coated in sugar and filled with magic. Only made in a limited time of the year and hard to get a hold of. This sounded to tempting to skip. Game on!

So we’re in Corsica drinking wine and savouring food experiences. New friends are made and Antoine from Burgundy is our new food hero of this story. Being a hobby chef and food photographer, he one night mentioned that he was getting up at sunrise the next morning on a secret mission. Red alert! Our attention was caught and he rambled on.
 
“Well, there is this rare and famous pastry made only here in Corsica, and available for a limited time of the year. When the grass holds the right amount of “fat” or whatever it is, the milk from sheep (or goats) are produced into fresh cheese. This is then wrapped in a dough, deep fried and rolled in sugar.”
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As all things limited, we were sold.

A full day of tasting wine, finished with a full on wine makers dinner… the next morning was brutal. A splash of water and hair spray; we checked out of the hotel.
 
A nice couple of bikes were going to take us to the market.

A nice ride, with a stop to Snap this sunrise over Ajaccio.  Epic!

​We reached the market upon opening. An all Corsican buffet of fun. Cheese, cured meat, dried fruits and seasonable vegetables. A treat just that.

​The lady, who I’m sure name is Francine, just got the fresh delivery, made by her husband. We bought a dozen and got into it.

​The golden balls are called Beignet (pronounced benjé)

​Fresh smell of pastry and sugar. Flavour is complex and fantastic. The slightly salt cheese, rubbing against the sugar and fat is quite something. It also holds a hint of oranges. This comes from “eau de orange”, which you probably guessed translates to  “orange water”.  

​Ass all things fried, you need to get them freshly from the fryer. Hence the importance of being at the market, when opening. 

​So if you’re in Corsica, by chance, in April-May, put this on your ’to do list’.
And make a mission out of it. It passes as ‘on for the books’