Everything about Basque Cuisine totally explained
Basque cuisine refers to the typical dishes and ingredients of the cuisine of the
Basque people of
Spain and
France. These include meats and fish grilled over hot coals,
marmitako and lamb stews,
cod, bean dishes of
Tolosa,
paprikas from
Lekeitio,
pintxos (the Basque equivalent of
tapas) of
Donostia, sheep's-milk cheeses from
Idiazabal, the wine
Txakoli and the Gipuzkoan
cider.
Description
Basque cuisine is influenced by the abundance of produce from the sea on one side and the fertile
Ebro valley on the other. The mountainous nature of the
Basque Country has led to a difference between coastal cuisine dominated by fish and seafood, and inland cuisine with fresh and cured meats, many vegetables and legumes, and freshwater fish and
salt cod. The French and Spanish influence is strong also, with a noted difference between the cuisine of either side of the modern border; even iconic Basque dishes and products, such as txakoli from the South, or
Gâteau Basque (Biskotx) and
Jambon de Bayonne from
the North, are rarely seen on the other side.
Basques have also been quick to absorb new ingredients and techniques from new settlers and from their own trade and exploration links.
Jews expelled from Spain and
Portugal created a chocolate and confectionery industry in
Bayonne still well-known today, and part of a wider confectionery and pastry tradition across the Basque Country. Basques embraced the
potato and the
capsicum, used in hams, sausages and recipes, with pepper festivals around the area, notably
Ezpeleta and
Puente la Reina.
Cuisine and the kitchen are at the heart of Basque culture, and there's a Museum of Gastronomy in
Llodio.
Ways of eating
In addition to the dishes and products of the Basque Country, there are features of the way of preparing and sharing food unique to the area.
Cider houses (
Sagardotegiak) are a feature of the hills around Donostia, especially near
Astigarraga. These are usually large country restaurants with enormous barrels of cider. Cider is poured from a height straight into the glass for visitors, with a rustic menu invariably of salt cod
omelette, grilled
T-bone steak and ewes' milk cheese with
walnuts and
quince paste. The cider houses are only open for a few months of the year.
The
txikiteo is the tapas crawl from bar to bar seen across Spain, but it reaches its pinnacle in Donostia, with hundreds of people on the streets of the old town wandering from bar to bar, each known for its speciality, whether it be
croquettes,
tortilla, toasts or seafood. The txikiteo is also popular in cities such as
Pamplona and
Bilbao.
Gastronomic societies are organisations, almost always of men, who cook and eat together in a communal
Txoko (literally 'corner'). In large cities, the society's premises can be large and formally organised, but the
txoko is frequently a small space owned by a group of friends in smaller towns and suburbs, where food and costs are shared. The first txoko was noted in Donostia in 1870. This unique feature of the Spanish
Basque Country enables men to participate in the cooking process and spend time together away from the traditionally formidable matriarchs (
etxekoandreak). In recent years, women have been allowed into some clubs.
New Basque Cuisine
In the 1970s and 1980s Basque chefs were influenced by the
nouvelle cuisine of France and created the
nueva cocina vasca, radically original in its form but solidly Basque in substance, with lighter and less rustic versions of traditional dishes and flavours.
Juan Mari Arzak in Donostia became the most famous exponent and one of Spain's first three-star
Michelin Guide restaurants.
In a few years the movement swept across Spain, becoming the nation's default
haute cuisine. Many tapas bars, especially in Donostia, serve modern-style
pintxos employing novel techniques and ingredients. In more recent years, young chefs such as
Martin Berasategui, with several restaurants including at the
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, have given new impetus to Basque cuisine.
International Basque cuisine
Basque cuisine has continued to have an influence on international cuisine, particularly in the rest of Spain and France where it's highly regarded.
Catalan chef
Ferran Adrià has taken the techniques pioneered by Arzak and other Basque chefs to new heights.
Karlos Arguiñano has popularised Basque cuisine in Spain through TV and books. In America, Basque chef Teresa Barrenechea owned and ran a Basque Restaurant "Marichu" and was among the first to bring traditional Basque Cuisine to America. Apart from owning this restaurant, Teresa Barrenechea has written two books, "The Basque Table" and "The Cuisines of Spain". At the other end of the scale, Basque-style tapas bars are common in
Barcelona and
Madrid. In cities where large numbers of Basque people emigrated, such as
Buenos Aires,
Argentina,
Boise,
Idaho, and
Bakersfield,
California, there are several Basque restaurants and a noted Basque influence on the local cuisine.
Typical dishes
Products
Roncal, Ossau-Iraty and Idiazabal cheeses
Jambon de Bayonne (cured ham)
Chistorra and Chorizo de Pamplona (spicy sausage)
Sausages from Viana
Peppers from Ezpeleta, Gernika and Lodosa
Tripotx (lamb blood sausage from Biriatou)
Beans from Tolosa
Asparagus from Mendavia
Artichokes from Tudela
Cherries from Itxassou
Drinks
Txakoli wine
Irouléguy wine
Cider (Sagardoa) from Gipuzkoa
Patxaran liqueur
Izarra liqueur
Pili (mandrake-root liqueur)Further Information
Get more info on 'Basque Cuisine'.
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