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Transatlantic 2022 — Returning to a Barcelona Favorite; Restaurante Anduriña


Restaurante Anduriña, Barcelona, Spain

Today concludes my series on our transatlantic cruise, but this trip is far from over. As you may have surmised, since several of the destinations covered over the past several weeks were hit more than once, the next segment of this two-and-a-half-month journey was an eight-day Mediterranean cruise that hit seldom-visited ports in Spain and France. So, while the transatlantic aboard Vision of the Seas ended in Barcelona, our next Vision of the Seas adventure began later that same 13 May date.

Restaurante Anduriña outdoor tapas menu

Now, if today’s restaurant review appears familiar, it’s because I’ve covered Restaurante Anduriña before in an article from when we visited this establishment on multiple occasions in October of 2021. I thought it might be fun to go back and see if the quality is holding up. Spoiler: It is. Here’s the article on our previous visit for comparison: Fun Food Friday — Restaurante Anduriña. If you compare the menu images from last year’s visit to the visit in May, you’ll find that inflation is indeed a worldwide post-pandemic phenomenon. But the prices didn’t go up all that badly.

13 May 2022 prices — Main Menu
13 May 2022 prices — Drinks and Desserts

But, hey, don’t forget the specials:

Menu del Dia — Menu of the Day

Inside, not much has changed. Restaurante Anduriña retains its intimate charm, but with limited seating. If you want to eat there, go early or see if you can reserve a table:

As the old saying goes: When in Spain, do tapas. Okay, I just made that up. But tapas is a truly Spanish invention that bears sampling. However, before getting your chosen tapas, don’t forget Andurina‘s exquisite sangria, which I told you about in my previous review, which read: “It was on our second visit that we also discovered Restaurante Anduriña also makes a mean sangria. Needless to say, the house wine went by the wayside once we discovered sangria by the “jug” (pitcher).

Restaurante Anduriña‘s sangria is still wonderful and refreshing

One of our favorite discoveries here from our last series of visits was the delectable Padrón peppers, which I described thusly: “On our second of three visits Ursula’s nose detected the faint aroma of green chilies. Looking around we saw a couple savoring a plate piled high with what we soon learned were Padrón peppers. It was love at first bite, and we wound up ordering it more than once. No need to worry about spiciness (unfortunately for us), as they were quite mild and very tasty. The peppers came to us fried and rolled in coarse salt.” Well, those Padrón peppers were just as irresistibly delectable this past May:

Padrón peppers; so good you’ll want your own plate

Shall we zoom in for a closer look?

Padrón peppers

And a very short time later we were left with:

Ooops. You blinked and they were gone!

One quibble I might have is that bread comes as a separate expense at Restaurante Anduriña, but Ursula and I remain willing to overlook that because everything else is so yummy and relatively affordable. One item that remains a constant on this visit as well as our previous three last October is the Spanish cured meat platter. From my previous review: “Let’s zoom in and see what goodies await, as this platter includes olives, chorizo (a spicy sausage), Iberian ham, fuet (a thinly sliced dry-cured pork sausage), bull blanc (the pale meat pictured, a type of pork sausage).” That, too, is just as good as it was before, and the price for this wonderful tray is only €2 more than it was last year:

Spanish cured meat platter includes olives; bread is extra, but is an absolute must

You may wish to peruse my previous review of Restaurante Anduriña for details on other menu offerings, such as their pulled pork sandwich served with some incredible fries, anchovies swimming in olive oil, and their great hamburger. Want to know the location for your next Barcelona visit? Well, that’s a secret.

Just kidding:

Restaurante Anduriña; on Carrer Comtal just east of Avinguda del Portal de l’Àngel

As for their website, that is linked here: Restaurante Anduriña.

I hope you enjoyed this return to a Barcelona favorite of ours. See you for this week’s Fun Photo Friday, where we’ll finish up with one more set of favorites highlighting Palma de Mallorca and Valldemossa.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation, Wine & Food

Today’s Super Bowl Menu


Just thought I’d share since we’re having our good friends and next door neighbors Randi and Jim over for the game:

  • Jalapeño Pesto Dip
  • California Onion Dip (recipe near the end of the blog in the above link)
  • Fritos Scoops Corn Chips to go with the onion dip
  • Santitas Yellow-Corn Tortilla Chips to go with the jalapeño pesto dip
  • Various ales, both American and English to accompany the chips and dips
  • Green chili cheeseburgers made with organic, grass-fed beef on:
  • Homemade hamburger buns
  • 2011 Bordeaux Supérieur Grand Vin de Bordeaux to accompany with the burgers

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Flat Turkey Enchiladas


On Monday I presented my favorite recipe for red enchilada sauce, as well as my heretofore secret source for the perfect chili powder.  Today, I’m going to show you what to do with it using that leftover turkey breast that’s been sitting in your freezer since shortly after Thanksgiving.

Most of you are probably familiar with the rolled red enchilada filled either with cheese or ground beef.  Some of you may be familiar with rolled chicken enchiladas smothered in green chili sauce.  But unless you’ve lived in the Southwestern U.S. or have spent any length of time in Mexico other than the usual tourist spots, chances are that you’ve yet to become acquainted with the flat enchilada — the Mexican answer to lasagna, in a sense.  The advantage to the flat enchilada is primarily one of reduced calories and fat, since rolling a corn tortilla is hard to do unless the tortilla is first dipped in hot oil.  As we’re not going to roll these enchiladas, there’s no reason to first dip the tortilla in all that fat.

What you’ll need for this recipe:

Turkey breast, enchilada sauce, onion, corn tortillas, cheese

Turkey breast, enchilada sauce, onion, corn tortillas, cheese

Turkey breast, coarsely chopped
Red Enchilada Sauce (from Monday’s blog)
Finely dices onion
Cheese, shredded (Colby, longhorn, cheddar, and/or Monterrey Jack)
Fresh corn tortillas

And, optionally:

Freshly roasted green chiles diced into large pieces (This was Ursula’s idea):

And, optionally, green chile

And, optionally, green chile

If you do decide to add green chile here’s a quick refresher on how to prep them (we did this before with Chile Rellenos).  Roast the chiles over flame or hot charcoal until the skin is charred, but the flesh remains firm.

Roast chiles until charred

Roast chiles until charred

Steam the skins for easier removal by placing the still warm chiles into a plastic bag and leaving them to sweat for about five minutes.

Allow chiles to steam in a bag

Allow chiles to steam in a bag

Scrap off the charred skin with a knife, cut off the stems, slice open and remove the seeds, and then dice into fairly large pieces.

 

Scrap off the skin, seed and slice

Scrap off the skin, seed and slice

Now that we have the optional stuff out of the way let’s return to the heart of this recipe.  Spray a large baking tray with cooking spray.  You’ll be glad you did later when it comes time to clean it.

Makes later cleanup easier

Makes later cleanup easier

Dip corn tortillas into Monday’s red enchilada sauce and allow the excess to drain off.  Arrange tortillas into a single layer.  Top with turkey breast.

Coat both sides of the corn tortillas

Coat both sides of the corn tortillas

Arrange the first layer of tortillas; top with turkey breast

Arrange the first layer of tortillas; top with turkey breast

Add some of the grated cheese, diced onion, and green chile (if you decided to use it).

Add cheese, onion, and (optional) green chile

Add cheese, onion, and (optional) green chile

Make a second layer of coated tortillas.

Arrange second layer of tortillas

Arrange second layer of tortillas

Top that layer as you did the first — with turkey, onion, cheese, and green chile.

Top again with turkey, cheese, onion, and chile

Top again with turkey, cheese, onion, and chile

Now add a third and final layer of coated tortillas, but this time top the uppermost layer with only cheese and onion.  Turkey on the top layer would dry out, and the green chile might overcook and lose texture.

Add third and final layer, and top only with cheese and onion

Add third and final layer, and top only with cheese and onion

Bake at 375° (190° Celsius) for fifteen minutes or so, until the enchiladas are fully heated throughout, the cheese is completely melted, and the sauce steaming hot and almost bubbly.

Bake at 375° (190° Celsius) for 15 to 20 minutes

Bake at 375° (190° Celsius) for 15 to 20 minutes

Serve alongside a nice salad with cooling ranch-style dressing to quench the spiciness of the enchilada sauce.

A popular and very traditional variation to the flat enchilada is to top the whole concoction with an egg, either sunny-side up or over easy.

Wine Selection:  This is of course an inherently spicy dish, even if you chose to make it with mild chili powder.  It’s also a white-meat dish.  Both of these characteristics imply a white wine, with the spiciness suggesting one on the slightly sweet side (sweetness counteracts spicy heat on the tongue; white wine complements lighter bird meats such as chicken and turkey).  That criteria gives us a selection of wines from which to choose — Gewurtztraminer, Chenin Blanc, some of the German-style Rieslings, and on the drier side (and one of my favorite all-round whites),  a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, or perhaps a Pinot Grigio.

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