Crab churros with crab aïoli and cucumber fennel salad
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 4–6
Savoury churros, when made properly, are fantastic and have so many combinations. We have made them with black pudding, salt cod and spring onion, crab and lots of other ideas.
For this recipe, you will need a piping bag with a 2cm/¾in nozzle.
Ingredients
For the crab aïoli
For the salad
For the churros
- 200ml/7fl oz shellfish bisque or fish stock
- 125g/4½oz brown crab meat, sieved
- 100g/3½oz butter, cut into small cubes
- 100g/3½oz strong white flour, sifted
- 5g fresh flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
- 5g fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 2 free-range eggs, whisked
- oil, for deep frying
- salt
To garnish
Method
To make the crab aïoli, place the garlic and sea salt in a bowl and crush with the flat of a knife to make a fine paste.
Transfer the garlic paste to a large bowl. Add the egg yolks and mix vigorously to combine.
Pour both oils into a jug and add them to the egg mixture a drop at a time, whisking constantly. Keep going like this until the yolks and oil are emulsifying rather than separating.
Increase the oil to a steady drizzle, still whisking constantly, and eventually add it in a steady flow.
Once the aïoli has a mayonnaise consistency, fold in the lemon juice and brown crab meat, stirring until the mixture is silky smooth. Set aside until needed.
To make the salad, mix the cucumber, fennel and salt in a large bowl. Leave for 5 minutes, then discard any excess water from the bowl.
Add the white crab meat, chives, vinegar and oil. Stir well and set aside.
To make the churros, place the shellfish bisque, brown crab meat and butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, ensuring the butter has melted.
Add the flour in three or four batches, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring for about 3–4 minutes, or until a completely smooth dough has formed. The dough should peel off the sides of the pan whilst stirring.
Stir in the herbs and a large pinch of salt. Set aside to cool, or the eggs could curdle in the next step.
When the dough is still slightly warm, gradually beat in the eggs, fully incorporating each amount before adding more.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm/¾in nozzle.
Place a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium–high heat and add enough oil to fill it by one-third. Heat the oil to 180C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
Pipe the churros dough into the hot oil in a large coil or in 8–10cm/3¼–4in strips (snipping them off with scissors). Choose whichever shape you prefer. Do not overheat the oil or the churros could fry too quickly on the outside, while the steam builds up inside causing them to pop and splatter hot oil. Do be very vigilant on the temperature.
Cook for 2–3 minutes, turning halfway through. Lift out the churros with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Season with salt, to taste.
Garnish with the lemon zest and shellfish powder and serve with the aioli and salad.
