Churros con Chocolate

There is nothing more Spanish than "Churros con Chocolate". They make a great "merienda" in the afternoon, a good breakfast after the clubs and pubs close at the wee hours of the morning, or a birthday meal. It is a social act. There is nothing more social than a group of friends sitting around a marble table in one of the old churrerías with their friends. The custom of eating churros is believed to have started with the traveling fairs and has since moved onto the breakfast menu of regular cafes. The chocolate has a much longer history. It comes from the Aztec word Xocolatl and is a product introduced to Europe by the Spaniards. Xocolatl, the gift of the gods.

Ingredients:

To make the churros:

2 cups flour

1 cup hot water boiled with a lemon peel

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

oil to fry

sugar

Put the flour and the salt in a bowl. When the water with lemon peel starts to boil, pour it into the bowl with the flour and start mixing. Then add the olive oil and keep stirring. It doesn't matter if there are some lumps of flour. They will disappear when frying. Pour the mix in a "churrera" or if you don't have one, use a pastry bag with a star tip. Use a fryer or deep pan with vegetable oil. When the oil is hot pour the mix in pieces about 6 inches long and let them get to a brown color. Remove the churros and let them rest on paper towel to get rid of of any extra oil Then dust the churros with sugar - lots of sugar.

To make the chocolate:

Baker's unsweetened chocolate

Grate the chocolate and place in a double boiler. Let it melt and add milk little by little, stirring and let it thicken to your likeness.