choux dough recipe

I'm trying to use up as much of the stuff we have at home as possible so as to avoid going to the supermarket. So when I wanted to make some party snacks on Friday, I came across a recipe for choux dough that is so easy I can't believe I hadn't tried it before.

Choux Dough

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of butter (I used margarine)

1 cup of all purpose flour

salt (if you want it savoury)

4 eggs

In a small/medium pan you bring the water and butter to the boil along with the optional salt. Then you let it cool down for a minute or two and afterwards you mix in the flour with a wooden spoon. You'll notice how the dough sticks together forming a little ball in the centre of the pan. You let the mixture cool down even more, for five minutes or so and then you mix in the eggs but with the help of a hand mixer this time. That's it. Finito. Your dough is ready. Now, depending on what you want to do with it, you give it the appropriate shape.

After that, you bake it at 220 C for 20 minutes and then at 150 C for another 20 minutes and you're done. When your dough has cooled down, you open it in half and fill it with whatever your heart desires, sweet or savoury.

I had a bit of difficulty shaping the dough because it is very sticky and I didn't have an icing syringe which might have helped. I used a large spoon instead and put ping pong ball sized dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper (I think the baking paper was an exaggeration on my part). In the oven they grew three times their original size, so bare that in mind when you make yours.

For my Mediterranean filling (ie what was in the fridge) I used

3 ripe tomatoes

some capers

1 spring onion

200 gr feta cheese

salt

pepper

black pit less olives

oregano

organic tomato paste with basil (this is lovely if you can find it)

I cut what needed to be cut, mixed it all together and filled my huge choux pastries with it. Didn't get any complaints. In fact, they were quite enjoyable. Like greek pizza topping in choux dough. (I just can't stop saying and typing 'choux dough'. Choux dough. Choux dough. Choux dough. Choux dough. Choux dough...)