Bree Hutchins
The citizens of Barcelona tend to eat and drink late, and then, around 2 am, resort to xurros from street stalls as a potential hangover cure.
Lucio Galletto and David Dale, authors of the fabulous cookbook ‘Coastline’, have generously shared their delicious xurros recipe with us all. While we can’t guarantee they will ward off hangovers, we can guarantee that they won’t last long on the plate!
To make these xurros look like the Barcelona version, you will need a piping bag with a fluted nozzle.
INGREDIENTS
60 g butter
400ml water
1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
A pinch of sea salt
300 g plain flour
Zest of ½ orange
1 egg yolk
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the chocolate sauce
150 g dark chocolate
18 g cornflour (cornstarch)
15 g sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest
300 ml milk
For dusting
110 g sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
METHOD
Put the chocolate sauce ingredients in a saucepan, whisk over low heat, then bring up to the boil and take off the heat. Keep in a warm place, or gently reheat just before serving.
In a small saucepan, bring the butter and 400 ml water up to the boil. Add the sugar, salt, flour and orange zest. Stir over low heat until the mixture forms a dough.
Continue to cook on low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes, until the dough leaves a coating on the base of the pan. The dough must be dry and not too soft.
Transfer the dough to a food processor and, with the motor running, add the egg yolk. Spoon the mixture into a piping (icing) bag fitted with a 2 cm diameter fluted nozzle.
Pour cooking oil into a large saucepan to a depth of 8 cm. Heat the oil over medium heat and after about 2 minutes, drop a small piece of dough into it. If it sizzles and turns gold, the oil is at the right temperature. If it turns brown, the oil is too hot and the saucepan should be removed from the heat for a minute; you want the oil to be sitting at around 170°C.
Using a pair of scissors to cut the dough, pipe the xurros as 10 cm tubes into the hot oil, working in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, using a fork to turn the xurros over in the hot oil.
Once they are golden brown, use a slotted spoon to transfer them onto a plate lined with paper towel.
Roll the xurros in the combined sugar and cinnamon. Serve hot, with the warm chocolate sauce for your guests to dip them into.
Images and recipes from Coastline by Lucio Galletto and David Dale (Murdoch Books, RRP $59.99)
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