by With her talent for introducing tasty twists on popular classics, Rachel Khoo has delivered yet another delicious spin, this time on the classic churros. Churros are traditionally served at breakfast alongside a rich hot chocolate but, in countries like Australia and the US, they are more commonly found as hot snacks rolled in cinnamon and sugar, and dipped in a chocolate sauce.
These Potato Churros with Red Pepper Sauce comes from Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, a book which has proven itself to be a treasure trove of delicious and innovative recipes.
Churros are typically made from a choux-like pastry which are piped into hot oil and deep-fried until golden and crispy. For this savoury version, the recipe calls for potato flour, which should not be confused with potato starch. If you have difficulty finding potato flour in your local supermarket, most health stores should stock them.
The only difficulty I had with this recipe was piping the mixture into the oil; once chilled, the batter was quite firm and some muscle power (aka my husband) was required to pipe the churros. Then again, maybe my mixture was too thick to start with as my churros turned out quite thick and plump, rather than long and skinny as most churros tend to be. Looks aside, I really enjoyed the taste of these churros. Curiously, they reminded me a bit of Chinese fried dough sticks in terms of shape and colour, but they are, of course, nothing alike. The potato flour makes them quite substantial, so they are perfect served as an appetiser or a light meal.
The Red Pepper Sauce is a mild and tasty accompaniment, but I spiced up another batch with red chillies for some added kick.
While I was making this dish, our neighbours popped by unexpectedly for a quick chat, so we invited them to stay for a drink. Incidentally, they had just returned from a trip to Spain where they had indulged in chocolate-dunked churros most mornings at breakfast.
I ended up serving the potato churros as an apéro snack with the sauces on the side, together with some chorizo and olives which our neighbours had brought back from Spain. It was the perfect snack to share with friends.
Potato Churros with Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
For the Potato Churros
- 75 g (⅓ cup) unsalted butter
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) potato flour
- 100 g (⅔ cup) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the Red Pepper Sauce
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 red capsicums, (bell peppers)
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- sea salt
- black pepper, freshly cracked
Instructions
To Make the Potato Churros Batter
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.
- Add the potato flour, plain flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Mix everything until it comes together.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until you have a thick batter.
- Fit a large piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle.
- Place the batter into the piping bag, and then leave in the fridge to chill.
To Make the Red Pepper Sauce
- Preheat the grill to high heat.
- Cut the capsicums in half and remove the seeds.
- Place them on a lightly oiled baking tray, skin side up, and grill for 15-20 minutes, or until the skins have blackened and the flesh is tender.
- Place the capsicums into a plastic bag (such as a freezer bag), and leave them to steam for about 20 minutes.
- When the capsicums are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and discard them.
- Place the flesh into a food processor with the garlic, olive oil and cherry tomatoes.
- Blitz until you have a smooth sauce.
- Taste for seasoning.
To Cook the Potato Churros
- Heat the oil in a large pan or deep-fryer until it reaches 170°C/338°F.
- Pipe the batter directly into the hot oil and use a pair of scissors to cut each churro when it is about 10 cm long.
- Fry the churros for about 5 minutes, or until they are lightly golden in colour, turning them once or twice to get an even colouring.
- You may need to cook the churros in 2 or 3 batches.
- Drain the churros on some kitchen paper.
- Sprinkle the churros with a little smoked paprika, and serve them while they are still hot with the red pepper sauce.
Kitchen Notes
- OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Your photos are sooooooo nice!!! And so are your churros!!! I’m not a fan of sweet churros, but I love this kind of fried choux, so I think they must be yummy!!!!
I don’t have potato flour, the most near than this are these powder to prepare masched potatoes. I think it wouldn’w work! 😛
I keep the recipe, even if I have to admit that frying, pastry bag and I are intimate enemies forever!!
Have a nice end of week, Thanh!!!!
Hi Paula! This savoury version of churros is quote more-ish. It’s a bit unusual to eat it as a savoury dish, but it worked really well as an apéro snack! I had a bit of difficulty finding potato flour at the supermarkets in Zurich, but I had no problem finding them at the health shop. I’m not sure you could use instant mashed potato powder … but who knows, it might work! Nigella has a recipe for potato pancakes which uses instant mashed potato powder and I love it 🙂
Oh, what happened with me the other day!! Masched potatoes, wouldn’w!!! I guess it was my excitement because I finally could comment here!!
I know it’s a crime, but I don’t remember or don’t know Nigella’s pancakes! I will search, because it’s a good start to see how this mix “behave” in that batter 😛
Have a nice weekend, Thanh!!!
The recipe for the potato pancakes is from Nigella Express, but you can also find the recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/potato-cakes-with-smoked-salmon-recipe.html
I always feel a bit embarrassed buying the instant mashed potato powder for this recipe, but the pancakes taste so good! I ought to do a blog post on them 😉
Wow, savory churros are such a great idea! I love it! And that red pepper sauce sounds like it would be great on any number of dishes.
I think it’s a very clever idea, too! And I think the churros lend themselves well as the perfect dunking vessel for many types of sauces.
I have never tried savoury churros before, what a great idea. I have Rachel’s book but must have missed these!
There are so many great recipes to try in Rachel’s latest cookbook. I love fried food so this recipe appealed to me at first glance!
Hi Thanh, Once again another brilliant post with stunning pics. I don’t seem to have a lot of time on my hands these days but I do pop into look at your posts and refer recipes 🙂
This is the first time I’ve heard of savoury churros, hopefully I’ll get a moment to try them out (fingers crossed)…
xx
Hi Rushi, lovely to hear from you, as always 🙂 If you’re looking for ideas for a light meal or something to serve with drinks, I highly recommend these potato churros. Hope you and the little one are well 🙂 xx
What a delicious idea for a savoury churros! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
YES YES YES!!! This recipe is perfect for me! Looks tasty!