Ox Cheek Doughnuts & Apricot Jam

APRICOT JAM:--
500 g apricot purée
50 g caster sugar
2 cardamom pods, bruised
DOUGHNUT DOUGH:--
100 g caster sugar
10 g instant dried yeast
75 ml water
750 g plain flour
120 g butter, softened
375 ml milk
rice bran oil for frying
BRAISED OX CHEEK:--
rice bran oil
2 ox cheeks, trimmed
1 onion, chopped 2 cm pieces
1 carrot, chopped 2 cm pieces
1 stick celery, chopped 2 cm pieces
½ tsp SIDS CRAZY SALT
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150 ml red wine
400 ml chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of thyme
OX CHEEK FILLING:--
500 g ox cheek, shredded
100 g Aji Panca paste
small handful coriander, chopped
small handful fresh mint, chopped
150 g cream cheese
100 g Kiwifruit Kaitaia Fire
sprinkle of SIDS CRAZY SALT
SMOKED PAPRIKA SUGAR:--
4 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
Deep Fryer

APRICOT JAM: put everything into a small saucepan and cook for 20 minutes until it is a jam-like consistency. Discard cardomom pods and leave jam to cool before serving. Keep in fridge up to a week.
DOUGHNUT DOUGH: mix sugar and yeast in a bowl with slightly warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
Rub flour and butter together then add yeast mixture, milk and knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough into a clean bowl, cover and refrigerate for ½ - 1 hour to firm up.
Preheat oven to 160°C.
BRAISED OX CHEEK: heat a drizzle of oil in a frypan and seal the ox cheeks until brown then transfer them to an oven-proof casserole dish. Add onion, carrot, celery, SIDS CRAZY SALT and garlic to the pan and cook gently until tender, with a little colour. Add wine then simmer to reduce by ¾ then pour over the ox cheeks. Add chicken stock and herbs.
Place lid on the casserole and put in the oven for 3 hours until cheeks give way when pressed with a spoon.
Allow to cool then remove the cheeks and shred with your fingers. Freeze the stock for future use.
OX CHEEK FILLING: mix all the ingredients together, roll into golf-ball sized balls, sprinkle with SIDS CRAZY SALT then refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
Remove the dough from the fridge, take 90 g and flatten it out. Put a ball of ox cheek mix in the middle and wrap the dough around. Make all the doughnuts this way then put them in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
When ready to cook, heat the oil to 170°C in the deep-fryer. Take the doughnuts out of the fridge and make sure they are completely sealed all the way round. Leave for 10 minutes to prove a little then cook in batches for 10 minutes, turning them over after 5, until dark golden.
SMOKED PAPRIKA SUGAR: mix the sugar and paprika together and when the dounuts are cooked, roll them in the sugar mix just before serving. Serve with the apricot jam.