Andorra

Week 3 of eating around the world took us to Andorra. Now when my random shuffle generator selected Andorra, I will admit, I had to look up where it was. So I found out it was that tiny dot between France and Spain. It is actually a principality as it is a diarchy headed by two co-princes: the Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spain and the President of France. See eating around the world helps with Geography and it is educational as well as tasty.

Finding authentic Andorran food was a bit of a challenge as most of their food has Catalonian influences, now I could have picked those as there are so many delicious foods to try, but I did want to keep it more Andorran. So I came up with three things to try.

Escudella
Trinxat
Crema Catalana

Escudella: Now I had high hopes for this one, this is a hearty soup/stew that is eaten around Christmas time, it is considered the national dish of Andorra.

So off I went to the butchers to buy the crazy amount of different meats that go into this dish, I mean it has pork sausages, ham, beef and chicken. I came home and started cooking. The initial stock was fatty, but I figured it would be, as all the descriptions I’ve read of this soup describe it as fatty. But I just skimmed off the fat as it rose to the surface and it was fine. The stock itself was very tasty.

And this is where it went wrong for me, I loved that it had beans in it, I loved the cabbage, I loved the pasta, but as I measured out the rice, my gut feeling was don't add it, but as it was in the recipe and I wanted to make it as it was eaten in Andorra, I added the rice, and for me what I got was a delicious stock that turned gluggy and grainy, if I hadn't added the rice I probably would have thought this was a great dish.

Would I make this again even without the rice, I would say no, for me there was far too much meat in this dish. Would I make a variation of this, probably as ultimately it is a thick hearty stew with cabbage and beans in it, which we love.

So although edible, this was not a recipe I would try again.

Trixat: is an Andorran specialty. It is where potatoes, cabbage and bacon get fried together in a hash "pancake", it is Andorra's version of bubble and squeak. It is comfort food.

Now my pancake failed, it wouldn't crisp up, I couldn't flip it, but the dish was not a fail, the flavours that you get from these three simple ingredients are just amazing. Now I forgot to take a photo, as it did technically fail, but this dish I am going to try again and again until I get it right, as this flavour combination was delicious. Will update you when that happens. 

Crema Catalana: For dessert I had to make the Crema Catalana, it is Spain's version of the creme brulee. I did find an Andorran version, but it was the same. This is so easy to make, looks amazing and tastes delicious. 

This is simply a custard, that is topped with some caster sugar that you blowtorch. The custard is smooth and luscious and the slight bitterness from the caramelised sugar compliments the dish. I love to serve it with fresh fruit. 

So overall, I had an okay dish in the Escudella, a lot of potential in the Trinxat, will definitely work on that one and a very delicious dessert in the Crema Catalana. 

​Now to add another sticker to my world map.

Next stop Egypt.