Churritos with Chocolate and Hazelnut Sauce

If you live in Southeast London, you have probably been to Greenwich Market, and have most likely seen the Brazilian churro stand in there.

I went for dinner with my friends yesterday and passed by the market, in the corner of my eye I could see the empty stand, and that’s when it hit me, the big urge of having their chocolate filled churro…

Apparently, my willpower is weak, and the path of bikini bod is not the smoothest.

Some of you might know that I already have a churro recipe on here, but I have found an easier and quicker way to make them. Heads up, I have tried it before just hand rolling the dough, but it is not the same. Therefore, for the best result possible, I would recommend using the piping bag.

For the Churros:

• 175ml boiling water
• 25g melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 125g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1l sunflower oil for frying

 

For the chocolate and hazelnut sauce:

• 50ml condensed milk
• 50ml milk
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 10 hazelnuts, crunched

 

For the cinnamon sugar:

• 50g white caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

 

In a measuring jug, add the water, melted butter and vanilla extract. Sift the flour and baking powder in a bowl and make a little well in the centre. Pour in the liquid and very quickly beat into the flour with a wooden spoon until it’s combined. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, start making the chocolate sauce by combining all ingredients in a pan and gently melting everything together. Keep it warm on a low heat stirring it occasionally.

As some of you might know, I have a deep fryer, which makes it handy when making this kind of recipes. If you do not have one, simply use a large deep saucepan to fry your churritos in.

Put the churro dough in a piping bag with a star nozzle fitted. Start by piping finger length churros into a greaseproof parchment paper. Make sure you have a pair of scissors nearby, as you will need to cut the dough. Unless your aim is to have the Guinness world record for the largest churro.

Fry 4 or 5 at the time until golden brown and crisp. Once they are ready, remove them from the fryer or the pan – I like using wooden chopsticks for this job. You will need to kitchen towel, to drain any excess oil. Don’t forget to toss them in the cinnamon sugar. For that, you just need to mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a plate or bowl.

Serve the chocolate and hazelnut sauce in a small ramekin to dip the churritos in.

 

Courgette Fries

I’m terribly sorry I have not posted anything for the past 10 months. Life has changed a lot and there’s no excuse because I’m obviously still cooking.. just not writing down the recipes and posting them on my beloved blog. 

I’ve got a new job which I’m in love with, lucky to work close from home and doing a bunch of traveling this year! 

Anyway let’s get to why we are here! Courgette fries! I went to Granger and Co last week with some friends and had courgette fries there… however.. they were undercooked.. but I’m always too damn nice to send my food back, so I just chewed through tough rubbery fried disks.

I had some baby courgettes in the fridge during this weekend, so decided to make it at home. 

For this beautiful recipe: 

• 8 baby courgettes (cut lengthwise in quarter)
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch 
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1 egg

I am lucky enough (or not… depending if you’re a doctor or not haha) to have a deep fryer at home, turn your fryer to 180C. 

In a bowl, mix all of your dry ingridrients (flour, cornstarch, seasoning), slowly add the milk to the dry mix, making sure to whisk well, then add the egg. Make sure the batter is well combined. 

Dip the courgette in the batter and fry it until golden brown. If you don’t have a deep fryer, use a pan deep enough to fry your courgette fries. 

Once the fries are ready to come out of the oil make sure you use kitchen towel to drain any excess oil. Season with sea salt to taste. 

Fantastic on its own, or with a tangy dip. 

Kale and Cauliflower Cheese

Good evening!

Hope you have had a good start to your month of March. 

I have had some ups and downs already.. But nothing will stop me from doing what  I love the most.. Cooking! 

  
Ingridients: 

• 1/2 head medium cauliflower
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 75g frozen kale 
• 1.5 tablespoon plain flour
• 200ml milk
• 150g grated cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumb
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and Pepper

First, steam or boil the cauliflower and kale together. Once their cooked, set aside and drain any excess liquid. 

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and once this is melted add in the flour and stir. Add the milk bit by bit and keep stirring until you get a lump free rue (sauce) and season it with salt and pepper. 

Add in the grated cheddar cheese to the sauce and keep it on a low hit until the cheese has melted. Put the kale and cauliflower into a oven proof dish and pour the cheese sauce over it. 

Sprinkle the the breadcrumb and Parmesan on top and bake it for 25minutes or untilthe top it’s golden brown. 

You can serve this with your Sunday roast! Or serve it on toast! Yum! 
Ana x 

Pastéis de Bacalhau – Salted Cod Cakes.

I love my Portuguese roots and I am a bit disappointed that I don’t cook enough Portuguese dishes!

To show my appreciation, I’ve decided to make one of our most popular snacks. To be honest with you, I had left over mash potato from my lamb stew earlier this week, so why the heck not.

 
You can get Bacalhau in any Portuguese food store, or for the cheaper option, you can go to any Afro Caribbean food store, and you will be able find salt fish!

Depending on the thickness of the dry fish, you will have to soak it in water for 1 to 2 days. Don’t forget to change the water every 12 hours. Pinch some of the cod and taste it, it should not taste salty but slightly salty is right. If it doesn’t taste of any salt you will need to adjust the salt in the recipe later.

• 400g Salted Cod
• 200g Mash Potatoes
• 1/2 onion (minced)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• Handful of finely chopped parsley
• Vegetable oil for frying

Boil the cod. You can boil the cod without any flavourings. When the cod is cooked it will come apart when probed with a fork. When this is cold, you will need to debone, skin and shred the fish.

If you do not have mash potato laying around like me, you will need to make some. Boil them potatoes and mash them.

Add the cod with the mash, and mix this well, then add the rest of the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Mix everything very well again until all is incorporated and homogenized. Make quenelles shaped of any size and take it to refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.

 
Fry in a very hot and generous amount of oil. At least half of the cakes must be covered when frying. Let it golden and then turn the cakes around and golden the other side. Remove from pan and let the cakes dry in paper towel for few seconds and then serve.

 
It should be deliciously crunchy. Serve it with a lime wedge or some hot sauce!

Vegan Mocha Mug Cake

Hi Petals! 

Have had a rough day today dealing with confusion emotions. I must say.. I am not doing this house bound patient thing very well.. Staying in and not having anything to do kills me. 

I have had the proper cast put on on Friday and will have to have this on for the next 4 weeks. Still makes it very hard for me to cook! 

So to cheer myself up, I have made a quick and easy Mocha Vegan Mug cake

  
For this recipe, you will need to add 1/2 teaspoon ground coffee, 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal, 3 tablespoons hot water to a microwaveable mug, mix it all together and let it sit for 2-3 minutes

Then add 3 tablespoon of plain flour, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of sea salt. Mix it all together and microwave it on max for 1 minute. Yes, 1 minute is all it takes for this delicious mug cake! 

I have served this with a coconut milk “yogurt” and sprinkled some cinnamon on top. 

This recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make.. I am not a vegan but sometimes I will try recipes like this! I like to know how alternatives will taste like and how it works. And I must tell you, this recipe it’s pretty good. The cake is moist and fluffy. 

A Cheese Affair

Good Wednesday pals!

So everyone that knows me, knows I have a unhealthy obsession for cheese – cheese on everything pleeeeease!!

When it gets to almost the end of the month, you’d rather save those pennies and have a scavenger hunt in your cupboards!

I went away for Portugal for a week and completely forgot that I had black truffle oil laying around in my house.. Yes this is something that you can use and lift a dish up.

 Let me present to you:

Grilled cheese in truffle oil

 
Instead of buttering the outside parts of the bread, sprinkle a bit of the truffle oil – not too much because the taste can be overpowering! – grill that mofo’ until you can see the cheese inside oozing out. Now for the cheese, I used cheap cheese but if you can please take the time and go to your local fromagerie and ask for a mild child that melts easily – like Gruyere, manchego, Swiss, Haverti, provolone, etc..

When it’s time to serve, please do yourself a favor and sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper, smoked paprika and dried herbs (herbs de Provence should do).

Now, get off your seat, try it and thank me later!

Ana x