Churros with hot chocolate sauce.

I have been asked by a few friends to post a Spanish sweet dish recipe, the Spanish aren't a great dessert eating nation, they would rather eat fruit after a meal, such as watermelon, oranges, apples and peaches. They do however, eat a lot of sweet pastries for breakfast and for what they call "Merienda" which is a snack between either breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. These sweet snacks are pretty much, always shop bought and can be, chocolate filled croissants and pastries, palmeras(chocolate covered puff pastry palmiers).
In the restaurants where sweets do appear on the menu, they are usually dishes that have been adopted by the Spanish and given a name change or are a slightly different take on the original recipe, such as Crema Catalan(which is their version of "Creme Brulee") flan(creme caramel) and profiteroles.
"So...what are you gonna post?" I hear you cry. One of the few sweet dishes I can think of that is "traditionally" Spanish is Churros..It is not strictly speaking a "Dessert" dish, as it is usually eaten for breakfast but hey...whos gonna tell??
In Andalucia, Spain, churros are made with deep-fried wheat flour and sold in spirals or wheels, which can be broken into edible portions after frying. These are generally called porras and calentitos or calientes, as opposed to the potato dough version made in the rest of Spain, also sold in the region but under the name Papitas or Calentitos de Patatas.
In parts of South East Spain, a much thinner dough is used which does not allow for the typical ridges to be formed on the surface of the churro. The final result has therefore a smooth surface and is more pliable and of a slightly thinner diameter than standard Spanish churros. Another difference is that sugar is never sprinkled on them as the flavour is not considered suitable. They are all eaten for breakfast and served with a hot chocolate sauce.
So...Here is my version of this Latin sweet dish, this recipe yields about 24 4-5" churros.

Ingredients:

(Churros)

1 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup white flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon.
Large Piping bag.
Star piping nozzle(optional)

(Chocolate sauce).

150g dark chocolate, chopped
125mls (1/2 cup)double cream
2 tbs soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

(Chocolate sauce)

Combine chocolate, cream, brown sugar and vanilla essence in a small saucepan and stir over medium to low heat until chocolate melts and the ingredients are well combined.
Remove from heat and serve in small bowls or tea cups warm or at room temperature. (The sauce will thicken as it cools.) You can store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

(Churros)

Preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch frying pan to 375 degrees F. In a separate dish mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat to a good boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Stirring in the flour will take some muscle. Mix it in until well blended.
In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.
Fill your piping bag with the churro recipe dough and attach the largest star nozzle you have.(If you don't have a piping bag you can use a strong freezer bag with one corner cut out but you will have plain churros without the traditional ridges)
Test your oil by placing a small amount of dough in it. The dough should bubble up right away, if not wait a little while longer.
Once the oil is hot enough, squeeze some dough (with piping bag) into the oil about 4-5 inches long (use a finger or a small knife to cut the raw churro from the piping bag), Being careful not to burn yourself.
You should be able to cook 4 or 5 churros at a time. Cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. Cook an additional minute or two. You're looking for that nice golden brown color.
Remove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb excess grease.
While still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated.

Now serve with the chocolate sauce and enjoy!

Albondigas

One of the more famous Spanish recipes for me I feel are are Spanish meatballs, meatballs are served in all tapas bars as a snack or an appetizer. Spanish meatballs are also made as a main dish at home. Albóndigas are also always offered as the starter in the set menu (menú del día) which Spanish restaurants and bars are required to offer to customers. There are lots of recipies for Spanish meatballs and I think this one includes the best from most of them!

Ingredients(4 servings)

(For meatballs)

200g minced pork
200g minced beef
100g minced bacon
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
3 desertspoons soya sauce
2 desertspoons bread crumbs
1 tsp. of oregano
1 clove garlic
Olive oil

(For sauce)

2 small, ripe tomatoes
2 medium onions
2 garlic cloves
1 small glass of white wine
A little flour
Salt and pepper
1 Carrot
1 bayleaf
Tomato puré or tomate frito
Half a stock cube

Method

Mix the minced pork and beef with the minced bacon. Grate one onion and chop or crush garlic. Add the grated onion, chopped garlic, soya sauce, oregano, and breadcrumbs to the meat, and mix all ingredients together very very well.
Make small balls with the mixture - about the size of a golf ball. Coat them lightly in the flour (get a bowl, put some flour in and roll each ball around) and put all the balls on a large plate until you are ready to fry them.

Now make the sauce. Cut up the other onion and chop the rest of the garlic, and put them in a non-stick pan with a little olive oil, the fresh parsley and some salt and pepper. Fry gently until they are soft, and then blanch and peel the tomatoes(as in the Salmorejo recipe)cut out the cores, chop and add. Finally grate the carrot and add that too. Add the white wine, half a stock cube dissolved in half a cup of water, a bayleaf and a bit of tomato puré (or tomate frito if you live in Spain). Stir well and put on a low heat.
Put some olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, enough to cover the bottom of the pan, and fry the meatballs until they are brown all over. You don't have to use lots of oil - turn them over so that they cook on all sides. You will probably need to fry them in two or three batches, depending on the size of your frying pan. As each batch is ready, put the meatballs straight into the pan with the sauce, leave them to simmer in the sauce for about half an hour.
You can serve the meatballs on their own as a tapas dish, with a chunk of crusty baguette or as a main course accompanied by a mixed Spanish salad, the usual salad bits including green olives, asparagus and boiled eggs.
Or if you're like me, they are fantastic as a meatball sub. Mmmmm!