Andorra

Yesterday's brief foray into Spain triggered all sorts of fond reminiscing and I had a similar feeling about Andorra, a country I've visited only once to ski, many years ago now. I wonder how that's working out now climate change is really beginning to bite and the Pyrenees is losing its last glaciers...

Anyway, although I spent a week there, I do not remember eating any traditional Andorran food while I was there, probably because as poor students we were in a self-catering apartment, unable to afford to eat out much. Fortunately, a quick search* revealed lots and lots of suggestions so we opted for 2 dishes, an appetizer of Pa amb tomaquet (see: http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/recipe-pa-amb-tomaquet-bread-with-garlic-tomato/), a kind of bruschetta like garlic and tomato toast - perfect with a little pre-dinner aperitif while the main course escudella simmered away.

Escudella is primarily eaten in the cooler winter months apparently, and most recipes list at least 4 different cuts of meat o go in it, but they also list white canellini beans and lots of vegetables, so I made a vegetarian version, loosely based on this recipe (https://joloskitchen.com/vegetarian-escudella-andorra-recipe/#recipe), though I omitted the soya sauce and added instead some vegetarian non-meat balls as well as vegetarian sausage. I fried both in the same pan first then set them aside on a plate while I cooked the vegetables in some olive oil on a lowish heat. I always think soups are better when the vegetables have time to soften and cook, releasing all their flavours before adding the vegetable stock. Then I added the "meat"balls and sausage just before serving at the end.

It worked really well and produced a very satisfying and hearty soup with lots of vegetables as well as beans. Plenty left for tomorrow so this may also become something of a family regular.

And talking of tomorrow, it's France, another favourite on the nostalgia train. Can't wait!

*In case you're still wading through the annoying pages of AI generated, adverts and diss that is Google these days, allow me to recommend kagi search - you pay for it, but it doesn't track you, is free of advertising and more importantly, it worls damn well.