Ingredients
Method
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1 t salt
- 1 T brown sugar
- 480 g cake wheat flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- coarse sea salt, for sprinkling For the beer and mustard dip:
- 1 cup beer
- 8 t brown sugar
- 2–3 T hot mustard
- ⅓ cup Dijon mustard For the cheese and jalapeño dip:
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- 2 T sour cream
- 8 t jalapeños, finely diced (sweet, from a jar), plus 4 t jalapeño juice (from the jar)
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese, finely grated For the onion dip:
- 2 T vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 t dried thyme
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup creamy mayonnaise
- 1 t Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper
Method
Ingredients
1. To make the beer & mustard dip, heat the beer and sugar in a saucepan and allow to simmer until about a third of the beer has reduced and the sugar granules have dissolved.
2. Stir in the mustards and simmer for a few more minutes.
3. Remove, cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
4. To make the cheese & jalapeño dip, combine all the ingredients and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
5. To make the onion dip, add the oil and onion to a saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often until the onion is soft.
6. Add the water, wine, stock cubes, bay leaf and thyme and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced.
7. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion and place in a separate bowl.
8. To the onions, add the remaining ingredients and, using a stick blender, blitz until the onion is diced and the sauce is well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
9. To make the pretzels, preheat the oven to 215°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
10. Combine the water, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Slowly add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough is thick. If it is still sticky, add more flour until the dough bounces back when you poke it.
11. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes and shape into a ball.
12. Break off pieces of dough that are roughly the size of the pretzel you want to make. For mini ones, a 5cm-diameter ball of dough should be sufficient.
13. Roll each ball into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape.
14. Brush the pretzels with the beaten egg. Place them onto the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.
15. Bake for 7‒10 minutes. They should be nice and brown, but if you want them a little crispier, you can grill the tops a little to finish them off.
16. Cool and serve with the various dips.
Cook's note: All you need are a few ingredients to make these warm, buttery pretzels. Golden, with a soft chewy interior and a salty exterior, these twisted beauties are designed to be dipped.
This recipe is an extract from All Sorts of Tapas by Chantal Lascaris. Published in 2021 by Struik Lifestyle an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Photographer: Donna Lewis
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