Burequitos

To continue the theme of salvation for vegetarians on the go in the city, I’d also like to give praise to ‘Burequitos’. Only 8 months since it’s inception, stallholder Shani begins baking sweet and savoury tartes and rustling up sandwiches at 6.30am every morning. How she manages this is in such a tiny space and trying to do everything before she opens two hours later is a wonder in itself.The first treats to catch my eye were the gorgeously appetising sweet tartes topped with raspberries, strawberries, currently abundant figs and the ‘peach crisp pie’. Shani assured me that everything is made without any preservatives or anything artificial. She only uses fresh ingredients which, with the exception of flour and fresh yeast, she procures from the stallholders that sit on the perifery of the Boquería market. These vendors sell their own produce grown around the Barcelona metropolitan area rather than those inside the cities markets which generally visit the wholesale Mercabarna market for their stock. To relieve our slightly sore heads and sustain us for the short walk back to my flat my visitor and I sampled a spinach, cheese and pine nut tart and one filled with broccoli and blue cheese. The pastry was still crisp after being reheated, my blue cheese was punchy but not overpowering to the broccoli. Pastry and formatge, what better pick me up for the morning after the night before?For such a small stall there is quite a selection: Apple and walnuts; leek, goat’s cheese and apple; aubergine, red pepper and mozzarella; tomato and feta; potato and onion; mushrooms; mushroom and parmesan; mixed vegetable and emmental; spinach and cheese, the latter three also offered inside puff pastry. Decisions, decisions. If you want to avoid the pastry and those calorific sins then never fear as there are also a range of these fillings available in sandwiches. Those fresh ingredients determine the price here, fluctuating between 1.50 – 2.50€ for tartes and 3.50€ for generously sized sandwiches. Shani and her young business shine, I urge you to pass by and help her nurture it.

Burequitos, stall 134 at La Boquería, Barri Gotic.