Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Sweet Gift From Spain



Cockfights, santacruzan, and churros have one thing in common: that Spanish influence. and I strongly think nuestra madre vieja Espana gave us more than just Catholicism.

The delicious, crispy churros make me think of Spanish friars chomping a Sunday morning away as I did at the Lung Center Compound in Quezon City on a Sunday market. I was honestly delighted to see churros made ourdoors by an old man – and not in a fashionable kitchen and served on fine china. Plus that churrera was a curious little thing- and I think it is that gadget that makes churros a churros, like it was created specially for that sole purpose. It also reminded me of the very pragmatic pasta maker. Then, shaped like a teardrop (though churros are said to have taken the shape of the horn of a mountain goat), the dough is fried in deep, hot lard.

I notice the similarities of churros to one of its cousins - the beignets – though I haven’t tried yet if the latter are just as good when dipped in chocolate. Because as simple as they are, warm beignets just taste right with only fine sugar … But churros really is something else. The crisp crust and warm chewy insides harmonize perfectly with the thick, rich chocolate dip, and the feeling is just superb when a whole biteful is followed by a few sips of freshly- brewed barako coffee- sans sugar.
Hmmm… this makes me think that having colonized has its many advantages after all. :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm so happy to see that churros are also a custom in your part of the world! Aren't they delicious?

My mom is Spanish and my dad is French so I've been exposed to all kind of goodies from an early age on and I love it! :-) No matter where you from there is so much culture to be found around food. It's fascinating!
I always been very attracted by Asia so for me it's a real treat to read about your experiences, your foods, your people, that's when you realize we aren't that different after all! Keep it up! You've got a fan here! :-)

And last but not least, you are absolutely adorable! I almost felt off my chair when I opened your blog! :-)
I'm still a little shaken but I'll be okay! Hahaha