Today was my due date. Today I was supposed to start my blog and publish my first post (my boyfriend decided on the date for me, so I stop procrastinating and instead of just reading other great food blogs, I start my own, as well).
I thought about what would my FIRST post be…and with so many possibilities, I decided on a recipe that is my ultimate comfort food (amongst others) and that represents my roots…spanish omelette (I actually thought it as a fun title for a blog).
But it just happened that last week Linguini and I went out for “chocolate con churros” for breakfast to a traditional Churrería and the chocolate was a big disappointment. So I promised this morning I would make the hot chocolate while he would go to get Churros (this is one of the few things I buy rather than make….First, at home you don’t usually have fryers that reach the right temperature nor the “churrera” to shape them and get all the air trapped in the dough out. Second….they explode!!! and I already got my share and burnt really, I mean really bad when I dared try it, so I recommend that you don’t make them at home).
As to the hot chocolate,I thought of sharing the recipe with you too! Linguini wasn’t so keen on the idea of eating his breakfast cold as I needed to take the pictures. But he ended up being patient enough to let me take some quick shots…
So, for a traditional spanish day I leave you with a delicious thick hot chocolate recipe for breakfast and later will come tortilla for lunch!
Hot thick chocolate for “Churros”
(Enough for 2 people)
300ml milk
100g dark chocolate (I used Lindt desserts 70% cocoa)
5g maizena
20g sugar
Pinch of salt
Chop the chocolate into small pieces, so it will melt better in the hot milk.
Dissolve the maizena in about 25 ml of the cold milk and set aside.
Bring the rest of the milk to a boil and take off the heat.
Add the chocolate and with a silicon spatula incorporate it until fully melted. A trick I use (since commercial chocolate doesn’t melt as couvertures sold to restaurateurs which contain extra cocoa butter) is to give it a whiz with a hand blender at minimum speed so it doesn’t foam. The result: a perfectly smooth chocolate.
Add the sugar to taste. I used 20g for this chocolate but your chocolate may be sweeter or more bitter, so try. Also, I’m not very fond of overly sweet things, so I keep sugar to a minimum, just to get the bitterness out.
Add the pinch of salt. I find that to all sweet things it brings out the taste…even in chocolate!
Now it’s time to thicken it. Pour the dissolved maizena into the melted chocolate and bring slowly to a boil as you constantly swirl it scraping the bottom with a silicone spatula. This is an important step so it doesn’t stick to the bottom too quickly and you end up with blobs of thickened paste floating in your chocolate.
I’ve got to say that how thick you like your chocolate is also to personal preference. Here in Spain they make it really thick! I like it a bit more runny (I think you can tell from the photos) but really chocolatey!!!
And…ENJOY!
Make ahead
If you want you can also make this ahead. The only important thing to do is to place a piece of cling film directly over the chocolate as you pour in into a container (Tupperware). It will obviously stick to it, but it’s the only way to keep it from forming a skin, like in bechamels, so it will be smooth when you reheat it. When ready to use, scrape ALL from the tupper and film into a saucepan and heat through. If you find it has thickened a bit for your liking, just stir in a bit of milk or cream....Et voilà!!
Some suggestions
I like to twitch the recipe a bit and add in some flavours. My favourite: coffee. I find it’s even better than plain chocolate. To make it I just substitute a cup of expresso for the same amount of milk. Or even simpler, add a teaspoon of soluble coffee (about 5 g) to the dissolved maizena. That easy.
Feel free to add flavours you like. You could infuse the milk with half a cinnamon stick or some orange peel, or it’s delicious to infuse it with chili! Have you seen “Chocolat” starring Juliette Binoche…she makes a Mayan hot chocolate with chili that really warms you up!!!
8 comments:
wow, what a sweet start! even just finished my lunch in a Brazilian Churrascaria, wouldn´t dare to swim in a hot chocolate tub like this in ur post.!
now I have the best chocolate!....and... I need the Churros...please let us know your secret recipe.
Fan number two...waiting
Hey "fan number two", like I said I DONT recommend making the churros at home...But if you dare (I am not responsible for any accidental burns) the recipe is dead simple...Same volume of water to flour. But the flour (after some research I have found out that it should be strong flour, like the one used to make bread, not normal wheat flour). So, bring the water with some salt to a boil, add it to the sifted flour in a bowl and with a wooden spoon mix very well to incorporate...there is the ardous work. And it is key to use a "churrera" to get the curly nozzle. If you fry a dough made with a straight one, you'll find it doesnt get golden, it almost looks undercooked. But when you use the curly one...the fine streaks of dough do colour whereas the interior looks paler.Like I said, if in Spain, buy them. If abroad...anything tastes good with chocolate!!!But if you try it, just in case, drop them in the oil and run 2 meters away just in case!:-)
maybe...a nice piece of the best sweet bread would be nice too,isn´t it?
something modern and different,simple and tasty.
test 4 the best .
I'll be waiting...fan two 4 the best.
Welcome to foodbloggers world!
thank you!!!:-)
I have been dreaming of churros for months, I finally got them out of my head and now they are back! argh. I'm going to have to make some now. Great blog.
Thank you Tamara! It sounds like you've made them before...just watch out for bursts! I have bad memories and prefer to make the chocolate and buy the churros. Though I guess it's a bit complicated to find them just around the corner in the uk!
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