Andorra

STAPLE FOOD OF ANDORRA

• Wheat (Pasta)
• Meat (Sausages)
• Fish 
• Vegetable (Cabbage)

The most popular entree in Andorra is the trinxat. It is a traditional Catalan entree. 

Recipe 

Ingredients

salt
1 2-lb. Savoy cabbage, rinsed and outer leaves discarded
2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled
12 thick slices of bacon
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 ½ oz. fatback, rind removed, thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring two pots of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Place the cabbage in one and potatoes in the other; lower the heat in the cabbage pot and simmer until very tender. Boil the potatoes until they are tender.
Drain the potatoes, set aside. Drain the cabbage in a colander; allow cooling slightly and then pulling out and discarding the core. Pat the cabbage as dry as possible.

In small batches, add the cabbage to potatoes in a food processor. Finely chop. Do not over do it. The cabbage should not be pureed. Place the mixture into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Brown the bacon in a skillet. Set aside to drain. Wipe out the skillet. Heat the oil in the skillet and then add the garlic. Cook until soft. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and add it to the cabbage mixture.

In the same skillet, heat half the fatback until fat is rendered. Add half the cabbage mixture, and flatten into a 1/2″-thick pancake. Cook over high heat until a bottom crust has formed and the trinxat slides easily. Invert a large plate over skillet, and very carefully flip trinxat over. Slide it back into skillet, browned side up. Cook until bottom is browned. Transfer to a platter.

Repeat the process beginning with the other half of the fatback and with the remaining cabbage mixture. Serve directly afterwards with the bacon.

Now the coveted dessert of Andorra is the Crema De Catalan.

                    Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 stick cinnamon
• grated rind of 1 lemon
• 2 cups milk

Preparation:

This is a great dessert to make ahead of time, since it is very easy and requires 2-3 hours of refrigeration before serving. Make it the day before and leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Then, heat the broiler, caramelize the sugar and serve!

In a pot, beat together the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until thoroughly blended and the mixture turns frothy. Add the cinnamon stick and grated lemon rind. Pour in the milk and cornstarch. Slowly heat the mixture, stirring constantly, just until thickened. Remove pot from heat immediately.

Tip: As soon as the mixture thickens and you feel resistance while stirring, remove the pot from the heat or the mixture may curdle or separate! The texture of the finished crema will be grainy instead of smooth and creamy as it should be.

Remove the cinnamon stick and ladle the milk mixture into 4-6 ramekins (depending on size). Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

Before serving, preheat the broiler. Remove ramekins with the crema catalana from refrigerator and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over each ramekin. When broiler is hot, place the ramekins under the broiler on the top shelf and allow the sugar to caramelize, turning gold and brown. This may take 10 minutes or so, depending on your broiler. Remove and serve immediately.