Andorra Recipes

French Peasant Bread

Makes 24 slices

Ingredients
2 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups warm water
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil
1 tablespoon corn meal

Directions

1. In a bowl combine yeast, sugar and warm water and proof the yeast for 15 minutes or until frothy on top.

2. In another bowl combine flour and salt and stir with a wooden spoon.

3. After the yeast has proofed pour about 3 cups of the flour and salt mixture into the warm water/yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine and then slowly add the remaining cup of flour-Don't knead it, it will be lumpy. You want to add only 3 cups of the flour and then the remaining cup of flour because you don't want it to be to dry, so if it feels too dry don't add the full remaining cup.

4. Pour a little olive oil in a bowl and pat the dough with a little olive oil to keep it moist and put the dough it in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise until it has doubled in size for an hour.

5. After an hour pat a little olive oil on your hands and dive the dough into balls. Form two balls/loaves however you want to form them-either circular or rectangular.

6. Sprinkle a little corn meal onto a baking sheet, and put the two formed loaves of dough on the baking sheet. Let rise for another hour in a warm area.

(This is where if I could do it differently I would.  First, step 6, it was way to moist to ball it into anything.  Instead I would forego the corn meal and get two bread pans.  Oil the sides, just enough to coat them, and the toss some flour about to coat the inside of the pans.  Then separate the dough between the two.)

7. Preheat oven to 425. After dough has risen for the second time, bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375, then bake for an additional 15 minutes. If you would like a firmer crust, bake for an additional 5 minutes.

8. After baking remove from oven and let cool completely and then slice.

Source: Sweetphi.com, http://www.sweetphi.com/french-peasant-bread/


Roasted Garlic

Ingredients

1 or more heads of garlic
Olive oil

Directions

1. Set a rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 400°F.

2. Use your fingers to peel away all the loose, papery, outer layers around the head of garlic. Leave the head itself intact with all the cloves connected.

3. Trim about 1/4 inch off the top of the head of garlic to expose the tops of the garlic cloves.

4. Drizzle 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the exposed surface of the garlic, letting the oil sink down into the cloves.

5. Wrap the garlic aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.

6. After 40 minutes, begin checking the garlic. The garlic is done when a center clove is completely soft when pierced with a paring knife. Even once soft, you can continue roasting until deeply golden for a more caramelized flavor — check the garlic every 10 minutes. 

7. Exact roasting time will depend on the size of your garlic, the variety, and its age.

8. Let the garlic cool slightly, and then serve. Press on the bottom of a clove to push it out of its paper. Roasted garlic can also be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.

Source: Thekitchn.com, http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-roast-garlic-in-the-oven-5341

Espinaca A La Catalan (Andorran Style Spinach)

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 sweet apple like a Golden Delicious or Fuji, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup raisins
10 ounces or one large package fresh baby spinach, washed and dried
Salt to taste

Directions

Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet to medium high.
Add in the apples and cook until they are lightly browned.
Add in the pine nuts stirring constantly so they don’t burn just about 30 seconds or so.
Add in the raisins and stir all together.
Add in the spinach and give a quick stir, remove from heat.
You want the spinach to just begin to wilt, do not overcook.
Add in salt to taste and serve warm.

Source: InternationalCuisine,com, posted by Darlene, http://www.internationalcuisine.com/espinaca/

Trinxat

Ingredients

Salt
1 2-lb. savoy cabbage, tough outer leaves discarded
2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled
12 thick slices of meaty salt pork or bacon
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 1/2 oz. fatback, rind removed, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring two pots of generously 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, usually 45-50 minutes: boil the potatoes until they are tender, usually about 25 minutes if you've left the potatoes whole, 15-20 minutes if they've been quartered. Drain the potatoes, allow them to dry off briefly over low heat, and then transfer to a large bowl. Drain the cabbage in a colander, and allow to cool slightly; then pull out and discard the core, and drain again, pressing the cabbage to release water. Add the cabbage to potatoes, and mash together with a potato masher. Season to taste with salt, and set aside. Working in batches, lightly brown the salt pork on both sides in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat; then drain on paper towels, and set aside. Pour off the fat and wipe skillet clean with paper towels. Heat oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes; then add oil and garlic to the cabbage mixture, stirring in well. 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 in the skillet, 5-10 minutes. Invert a large plate over skillet, and carefully flip trinxat over; then slide it back into skillet, browned side up. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until bottom is browned, 5-10 minutes. transfer to a platter. Repeat the process with remaining cabbage mixture to make a second trinxat. To serve, cut each trinxat into thirds and garnish each with 2 strips salt pork.

Source: EuropeanCuisines.com, http://www.europeancuisines.com/Andorra-Trinxat-Savory-Potato-And-Cabbage-Cake

Berry Coco

Ingredients

Dough:

3/4 cup water, hand-hot
A pinch of sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
9 oz strong plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lard

Topping:

Blueberries & raspberries (enough to cover the dough)

Sugar to taste

Directions

Mix 1/2 cup of the water, the sugar, and the yeast and leave for about 10 minutes until a frothy head forms. Mix the flour, salt, yeast mixture, oil, and lard, and add just enough of the remaining water to mix to a soft, pliable dough. Knead well for about 10 minutes, then place in an oiled plastic bag and leave in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.

Mix the berries and sugar for the topping.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and curl up the edges to make a border. Place on a greased baking tray and spread the fruit mixture over the dough and bake for 30 to 50 minutes.

Dough source: La Tienda.com, posed by María José Sevilla, https://www.tienda.com/recipes/vegetablecoca.html