Churros

Churros

When we were living in Jaén (Andalucia, Spain), I usually drive to the local "wet" market in the morning and start my day with a few Churros from the shop opposite. The lady worked with a partner in a small shop with 3-4 tables, frying her Churros on the spot and serving them with sugar or with a cup of coffee or very thick chocolate. And the Euro had just arrived at that time and a small bunch of the good stuff cost 50 euro cents. I was expecting Baby Girl then and no doubt the daily Churros contributed to the extra 20kgs I've put on for that pregnancy.

Her tools were simple then, just a wok of hot oil and a big tin funnel over it that had a handle. She turned the handle and the dough would come out of it and she would then guide the dough into the oil.

This afternoon, as I was listening to my compilation of Spanish songs from Almodovar movies while driving back from Ikea (trying to decorate the spare room for Baby Girl's Bday Party), the desire to eat Churros hit me quite suddenly and so Churros we were to have for afternoon tea!

1 cup Flour mixed with

2/3 Tsp Baking Soda

1 cup boiling Water

A pinch of Salt

Ground Cinnamon (optional)

Fleur d'Oranger essence (optional)

The principle is quite simple, just stick to the proportion of 1 cup flour to one cup (and a little bit more of) boiling water. Mix them together, add in the salt etc and then let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes.

Heat up oil for deep frying to 190ºC. Using an icing piper (with the biggest opening possible, churros are usually about 2cm in diameter), pipe out the dough into the oil in a coil. Fry for about 2 minutes.

Remove from oil and drain on absorbant paper. Use a pair of scissors and cut each coil of churros into smaller pieces. Sprinkle some icing or castor sugar (with or without ground cinnamon) onto the Churros or you could also roll them in a plate of sugar. Eat them hot. If you prefer, you can also dip your churros in a cup of coffee or thick hot chocolate.