3

The art and preparation of good food is as much a part ofthe Basque Country as are its green hillsides, its wave-beatenshores, its language and its folklore. The development of ourkitchens has run parallel to the long history of visitors toour country. Basque cuisine began to earn internationalacclaim in the belle époque of the early twentieth century.

Today, as the leisure society becomes part of our reality,Basque products, cuisine and gastronomy have become theplenipotentiary ambassadors of a way of life. Today Basqueculture would be incomprehensible without understandingthe fundamental role played by food and enjoyment in ourcountry.

The Basque people’s zealousness in terms of traditions iscoupled with the country’s geographic setting, a historicplace of passage between the Atlantic and the Pyreneesmountains. The farmhouses safeguard culinary treasureswhich combine ancestral methods with foreign contributions.Basque involvement in the exploration of America hasprovided us with vegetables and legumes that have adaptedperfectly to our vegetable gardens and which are today anindissoluble part of our cuisine. Moreover, relations withFrance have given Basque cuisine an international presence,with the help of master chefs trained in French kitchens.

This age-old tradition has given birth, particularly in thepast twenty-five years, to a new culinary culture wherebychefs and cooking schools have revolutionised the traditionalrecipe books, creating the world’s highest concentration ofoutstanding gourmet restaurants per capita. This world ofhaute cuisine, underscored by guide books and cookingcompetitions, lives side by side with countless smallrestaurants and grill houses, which, backed by time-honouredrecipes and techniques, offer home cooking in unique andattractive settings.

We might say, without going too far out on a limb, that foodis one of the most carefully minded aspects of Basque culturetoday. A number of activities are aimed at producing andselecting only the finest materials; a quality assurance labelsystem is on the upswing; new chefs are being trained andothers are honing their skills; and establishments are buildingsolid foundations upon which Basque cuisine is nowcelebrated the world over.

The magic of Basque cuisineForeword

Pg. 3Products from the Sea

Pg. 4-5Products from the Land

Pg. 6-7From the Vine to the Table

Pg. 8-9The Valleys of Alava

Pg. 10-11Montaña Alavesa and Rioja Alavesa

Pg. 12-13The Alavan Lowlands and Vitoria-Gasteiz

Pg. 14-15The Coast of Bizkaia

Pg. 16-17From Santurce to Bilbao and Encartaciones

Pg. 18-19Duranguesado and the Arratia Valley

Pg. 20-21From Donostia-San Sebastián to the Bidasoa

Pg. 22-23Tolosa and Goierri

Pg. 24-25Along the Deba and Urola Rivers

Pg. 26-27Other ways of getting to know Basque Cuisine

Pg. 28-29Looking at the calendar

Pg. 30-31Desserts, the sweetest ends

Pg. 32-33Useful information

Pg. 34-39

Contents

Edition: December 2009Published by:

Eusko Jaurlaritzaren Argitalpen Zerbitzu NagusiaServicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco

Design and production:ACC Comunicación

Photography:Agustín SagastiJulián RecaldeJavier Carballo

Gonzalo AzumendiFernando de Bustos

LurrakTexts written by:

Javier UrrozTranslations: BITEZ

Printed by: Gráficas Santamaría, S.A.D.L.: VI 632-2009

Data updated to September 2007

© Administration of the Autonomous Community of theBasque Country, Department of Industry, Innovation, Commerce and Tourism.

54

The ocean has historically beena giant pantry for Basquekitchens. The Basques, togetherwith the Japanese, are still oneof the major consumers ofseafood on the planet.

The Basque coast has alwaysbeen quitegenerous interms of high-

quality seafood.The spinylobsters from

Armintza inBizkaia or from

Igeldo in Donostia-SanSebastián are an example of

excellence, as are the smallUrdaibai clams and the wavebattered goose barnacles. Thedifferent kinds of squid, eachone enjoyed in its season, havealso become famous, especiallywhen served in the curiousblack ink sauce.

Rough seas and wave-beatencoasts make an ideal home foroutstanding fish. It is not at alluncommon to see such species

as sea bass,

grey mullet, red scorpionfishand red mullet in waterfrontwholesale fish markets,fishmongers’ and local grillhouses. The most importantspecies of fish have always beenassociated with the calendar ofsaints’ feast days, marking thebeginning of the fishing season.

The “arrantzaleak”(fishermen) would

dedicate their effortsto catching a certain

type of fishdepending

on the

season. The anchovy season inspring kept the fleet busy untilthe feast day of San Pedro, whenthe tuna season got under way.Winter was the time for seabream (ergo, the saying por “SanAntón, besugos en montón”,literally, scores of sea bream atSan Antón), and hake wascaught not far off the coastusing a special fishing method,al “pincho”, still practiced insome areas.

Although whales occupy aprominent place on a numberof coastal coats of arms, norecipes for this giant cetaceanhave made it to our times.

It may have been on their questfor whales that Basquefishermen made their way toNewfoundland, on the eastcoast of Canada, where theyfilled their holds with what istoday the quintessential fish inBasque cuisine: cod.

Since cod has to be dried andsalted in order to keep for anyamount of time, it tends to bemore prevalent in the interior.

Just how salt cod became sopopular on the coast is hard tosay. The answer may havesomething to do with theindustrial revolution that tookplace in the Basque Country,with its traditions of miningand ironworks, and with them,the need to feed a largenumber of people. The factthat Bilbao and Bizkaia haveuntil recently been the

champions of salt cod dishespoints in this direction. Withthe help of “etxekoandreak”(housewives), this product,which in other places wasgenerally considered rathertough and crude, was turnedinto a delicacy.

Recipes for the classic salt codsauces have been handed downfrom generation to generation:the ‘green’ pil-pil known alsoas “salsa verde”, the thickcreamy sauce today known aspil-pil, the “vizcaína” saucemade with dried red peppers,and ranero sauce.

Today cod is sold in severaldifferent ways. In addition toheavily salted, it can also befound desalted and ready tocook and, needless to say, fresh.In the Basque Country thenumber of recipes for cod isendless, including all types ofsalads, risottos and ragouts.

Products from the Sea

The Basque people have always been enamouredwith tradition, holding on to an activity which inrecent years has evolved substantially. Our fishingports still harbour multi-coloured fleets dedicatedto the daily task of bringing in one of the foundationsof our gastronomy.

From large-scale ports like Zierbana and Algorta tosmaller fishing villages such as Plentzia, Bermeo,Mundaka, Elantxobe, Lekeitio, Armintza, Mutriku,Zumaia, Getaria, Orio, Donostia and Hondarribia,the entire Basque coast is dotted with places whoseraison d’être is connected with putting fish on ourplates.

Near the docks, for the most part we find family-owned restaurants run pretty much the same wayas they were in former times. The women aregenerally in charge of the kitchen, seeing to the fishsoups, sauces and the more elaborate dishes. Themen tend to the charcoal broilers, making sure theturbot, sea bream, hake, mackerel or monkfish iscooked just right.

The key to making an exquisite plate of fish lies inthe perfect balance between fresh ingredients, skilfulhandling of the grill and using just enough olive oiland garlic to allow the natural flavours to comethrough – plus each family’s own particular secret.

Fishing Ports

76

No twoplaces in

Basque geographyare alike, ranging from theMediterranean-influenced shoresof the River Ebro, ideal forgrowing all types of gardenvegetables and irrigation crops,to the cool mountain slopes,perfect for farming tasty legumesand nutritional potatoes. In thegrassy fields graze the animalsthat provide milk, meat andcheese that give so many Basqueproducts their internationalacclaim. On the coast thetemperate ocean climate andsalty air contribute tomicroclimates that are excellentfor small-scale farming.

Tomatoes are associated with thetown of Deusto, now a suburbof Bilbao; green peppers areassociated with Gernika andIbarra; peas with Hondarribia.Zarautz also boasts of its fertilesoil and of the delicate flavours

of its local products. And a littlehigher up, the towns of Tolosa,Gernika and the MontañaAlavesa all lay claim to havingthe best local beans.

In the Basque Country thepainstaking care of the gardenshas given rise to delicate produce(broad beans, peas, tomatoes,peppers, etc.) which can bee seenbeautifully displayed in theoutdoor markets. It is true,however, that Basques havetraditionally been a meat-eatingsociety, much the same as inmany gastronomically-orientedcountries. Of course meat hasnot always been so easy to comeby and was once consideredsomewhat of a luxury item.There are still some small ruraltowns whose patron saint feastdays are tied to the slaughter ofa single cow. The animal is takento the local slaughterhouse andthen shared in a collective mealduring the festivities. It is still

not surprising to see an entireanimal – usually a 250-300 kilocalf – slowly roasting over acarefully attended fire on aburduntxi (rotating iron spit).

The woods supply yet anotherone of the Basque Country’scelebrated gastronomic products:game. Although hunting is nowbased on sustainablemanagement and strictlycontrolled, the opening of thehunting season brings out throngsof hunting fans and fills the potsand pans in the “txokos” orsociedades gastronómicas (eatingclubs), restaurants and homes.

The great number of migratorybirds, many of which make fordelicious eating, is one of thebiggest attractions for hunters.Thrush, the common and woodpigeon, and the woodcock, queenof the forest, are the favouritesamong gourmets.

Products from the LandA number of edible products are available to us in thewoods. In Euskadi collecting, classifying and, of course,eating wild mushrooms is practically a sport. Thousandsof enthusiasts head out virtually every weekend to themeadows, fields and forests in search of different typesof mushrooms, depending on the season. Wildmushroom picking is a healthy combination of walkingin the woods, learning a bit of botany by identifyingthe different types and enjoying the best samples forlunch or dinner.

Certain wild mushrooms, or “perretxikos”, are almostrequired eating on the patron saint feast days of Alava(San Prudencio, 28 April) and Orduña (8 May). Themost highly prized mushrooms, and most elusive, arethe different types of edible boletus, possibly the Basquedelicacy par excellence. Other species are also relished,including “gibelurdiñak” (milk-cap), “zizak” (tricholome,lyophylle and rhodopaxille), “karraspina” (man onhorseback) and “urreziza” (chanterelle). Local mycologyclubs often organise exhibitions, mushroom tastingsand other mushroom-related activities.

In recent years mushrooms have become increasinglymore popular in Basque cuisine. Whereas before,mushrooms were almost exclusively eaten by thepickers themselves, and often in private sociedadesgastronómicas, they can now be found on a numberof restaurant menus. One of nature’s most succulenttreasures is being employed more and more as ourchefs experiment with new dishes and ingredients. Inaddition to the more common mushroom and eggdishes, we are now seeing wild mushrooms in stews,soups, sauces and risottos; as an

accompaniment for fishand meat dishes; or evenas the main dishthemselves.

Mushrooms

The AmericanLegacyPeppers, tomatoes, beans, cacaoand potatoes were the real ‘gold’brought back from El Doradoby many of the Basques whoaccompanied the Spanishconquistadors. All of theseformerly unknown productsbecame part of the Basque diet,putting us in debt to theAmerican continent.

Recipes which are todayfundamental to Basque cuisine,such as vizcaína sauce, beans androasted Gernika green peppers,are reminders of ourhistorical link tothe native soil oftheseproducts.

The potato is a good exampleof the hard work of theillustrious “Real SociedadBascongada de Amigos del País”,an association which saw to thepromotion and development ofthe potato in Alava. As for cacao,the “Real CompañíaGuipuzcoana de Caracas”, withits monopoly on the trade andcultivation of cacao seeds, sawto it that the Basque peopledeveloped a taste for qualitychocolate products.

98

From the Vine to the Table

Wine CountryThe origin of

vineyards in ourcountry is an ongoing

debate, although all researchersagree that they date

back to antiquity. Itis known that during

the Roman Empirethere were grapevines in theupper Ebro valley and grape seedshave been uncovered inarchaeological digs. Even clearerstill is the fact that medievalreligious orders promoted culturein many ways, including the artof winemaking.

Rioja Alavesa, on the crossroadsof the so-called French route ofthe pilgrim road to Santiago deCompostela, had a great influenceon preserving and extending thecultivation of grapes.

Wine has always been part ofBasque tradition. It is only inrecent times that thedevelopment of this culture hasgiven rise to world-class wines.

Bulk wines formerlyserved right out ofthe cask have nowevolved into excellentbottled varieties,almost all of whichcarry the exclusiveRioja AlavesaDenominación deOrigen qualitycontrol label. Whatwas once a localmarket has nowgrown into one of the

Basque Country’s most widelyexported agricultural products.

Rioja Alavesa wines owe theirsuccess to the particulargeographical characteristics of theregion. Its vineyards extend

upwards from the steep northbank of the Ebro and aresheltered from the harsh mesetawinds by the magical peak ofMount Toloño in the Sierra deCantabria.

The exceptional terrain, baskingin sunshine and enjoying a highlimestone and clay content, iswhat has made this land soeminently suitable forwinegrowing for so manycenturies. The most characteristicand widely planted grape is black“Tempranillo”, used for makingred Rioja wines; “Graciano”, withits distinct aroma; and“Garnacha”, excellent for roséwines, which are often blendedwith “Tempranillo” to give eachwine its distinctive flavour. Thedelicate “Viura” variety is also usedin making white wines, which areevolving into well-balanced winesnow sought after by connoisseurs.Other exotic varieties such asCabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and

Shiraz have been planted in thesesoils on an experimental basis toblend with other grapes.

The most important winemakingtowns in Rioja Alavesa includeLabastida, Villabuena, Elciego,Laguardia, Lapuebla, Lanciegoand Oion, all of which areassociated with top namewineries, known here as bodegas,and excellent wines. In additionto concentrating their efforts onwinemaking, some of thesebodegas have created museums,monuments and interpretivecentres which are all open to thepublic.

Txakoli“Txakoli” is the wine of theBasque coast. It is light, fruityand slightly sparkling, and leavesa refreshingly acidic taste in themouth. Most Txakoli wine is

made from the white“Hondarribi Zuri” grape. Thedifferent “Denominaciones deOrigen” (Getaria, BizkaikoTxakolina, Araba) are theproducts of modern techniquesand specific methods.

The vineyards, which generallyoverlook the sea and are bathedin the mild coastal climate, arecarefully controlled to detectand prevent disease. The harvestis closely supervised so thatgrapes are picked at just the rightmoment; careful attention is paidto bodega hygiene, and

fermentation temperatures areclosely monitored to provide foruniform, top-quality wines.

White “Txakoli” wine is theperfect accompaniment for freshfish and seafood in seasiderestaurants. However, in Bizkaiathere is also a red “Txakoli” witha beautiful pinkish glint, knownas ojogallo. What was once thetown of Bakio’s claim to fame,red “Txakoli”, is now hard tocome by because it is madeessentially by only one bodega.

Even before wines became part of the Basque landscape,its primitive settlers were already very familiar witha beverage made from fermented apples. According tosome accounts, apple trees were so abundant in theBasque Country that apples were exported to othercider-drinking parts of Europe, including Normandyand Brittany.

A number of sidrerías, or ciderhouses, sold their productto shops, families and San Sebastián sociedadesgastronómicas, allowing their customers to sample thecider right out of the “kupela”, or cask. Even withtoday’s hygiene and fermentation control processes,Basque cider maintains its traditional flavour.

The cider tasting ritual has become a one-of-a-kindgastronomic experience. Today, people come tociderhouses from miles around to enjoy a good mealwhile anxiously waiting for the proprietor to shout theword “mojón”, meaning it’s time to unplug a new cask.People immediately queue up, with their wide-mouthedglasses ready, as the “ziri” stick is pulled out of the holeand the “txotx”, or stream of cider, splashes into theglasses, hitting the inside wall first to aerate it. Quicklydrinking the cool bubbly cider is a refreshing sensationfor an age-old drink.

Apples and Cider

2928

Today: pintxos for lunch

participate in a competition,and for the creation to beaccepted as a pintxo, it has tobe possible to eat it standing upand in a maximum of twomouthfuls. Plates, cutlery andother accoutrements are onlypermitted in order to make thejury’s job easier on the day ofthe competition.

These said pioneers areenthusiastically followed by alegion of enterprising chefs whobase their business on bar food,the elaborate preparation ofwhich more than holds its ownas a branch of the restaurantindustry as worthy of praise asthe best restaurants.

Today, the principalBasque towns all havespecialized bars inwhich to tastedesigner pintxos,

creations that tend to changefrequently depending on thedemand of the customer – whois increasingly exigent andknowledgeable on the subject –or on the creativity of the chef.A gastronomic paradise to bediscovered in its entirety, fromthe sophisticated competition-winning pintxos to the moretraditional variety, via thesandwich specialists.

Miniature cuisine has its own authors. Creators of ‘designerpintxos’ who are capable of condense in small portionsinnovations, products, trends and flavours that seemed tobe only for high cuisine.

In contrast to more traditional pintxos, the most creativeones have their own temples in Donostia-San Sebastiánand in the main Basque localities. The sophisticatedproposals launched by the cooks surprise at the bars. Thespecialised competitions are one of the ways of makingthese new pintxos known. Here we go over some of thelast creations that have been commented, all of themawarded in some of the main pintxo competitions.

4th Basque Country Pintxo Competition (Donostia 2009)

First prize: bar Bitoque de Albia(Rodríguez Arias 32, Bilbao)Maxi bon de rabo con sopa de asados

Second prize: Chez Phillippe

Third prize: Bar Gran Sol(San Pedro 63 Hondarribia)Jugo de verduras con bruma de Jaizkibel

- ÁLAVA-ARABA -

7th Alava’s Week of Pintxos (Vitoria-Gasteiz 2009)

First prize: Asador Sagartoki(C/ del Prado 18, Vitoria- Gasteiz)Tierra de esparragos de sol y sombra

Second prize: MarmitaCo(Avenida Judizmendi 4, Vitoria-Gasteiz)Carrilleras de cordero a la brasa

- BIZKAIA -

12th Pintxo Competition of Bilbao-Bizkaia (Bilbao 2009)

First prize: Bar Beraia(Alameda de Recalde 20, Bilbao)Lasaña de foie y manzana

Second prize: Gure Toki(Plaza Nueva 12, Bilbao)Rabode toro con algodón de Chardonnay

- GIPUZKOA -

11th Gipuzkoa’s Pintxo Competition(Donostia-San Sebastián 2009)

First prize: Bar Restaurante Mil Catas(Zabaleta 55, Donostia- San Sebastián),Vieira y berberecho con puré de azafrán

Second prize: Bar Lapiko(Corsario Ikuza 5. Errenteria)Bacalao confitado en aceite de ibérico

Jewels of miniature cuisine

The custom known as Poteo, orgroups of friends going on a sortof mini pub or actually barcrawl, serves to combine leisurewith the social aspect of life.This alternative has recentlycome into its own within Basquegastronomy, bringing a touch oforiginality and creation to thebars that were until thensomewhat deflated in this

respect. The popular habitof meeting at some pointof the day to discusscurrent events or bringthe working day to a

close, has recentlytriggered off anincreasingly popularliking for “bar

cuisine”, the mostelaborate expressions of

which are undoubtedly itspintxos.

Bars specializing in horsd’oeuvres are springing upall over the BasqueCountry. These bars canmore or less be dividedinto two categories,those of the moretraditional variety,which cover their bar-tops with the usualwares: tortillas,Russian salads, all

sorts of simple spicy sausage andanchovy snacks; and thoseoffering the more elaboratepintxos, a new genre responsible

for a proliferation of theseestablishmentsthroughout the country.

San Sebastián wasthe pioneer of thisart, also known as

tapeo, which it has infact continuously

renovated. The pintxocompetitions organized by the

Centro de Atraccióny Turismo, the localtourist board, andby the CofradíaVasca deGastronomía,marked therenaissance somefifteen years ago ofa virtually forgottenculinary speciality.

Snacks are aninseparable part ofcity life. Peoplepassing throughtown often had toeat but had no timeto actually sit downat a table and do so.Way before thearrival of fast food,earthenware dishesof home-madecuisine lovinglyprepared by thefemale members ofthe family business were alreadyto be found on our bars, butwithout the spectacularappearance demanded by a new,well-fed, public.

One speciality that doesn’t fallwithin this category is the pintxoknown as gilda, comprising threeingredients: anchovies, olivesand hot peppers or gherkins invinegar, which brings a sharp,stimulating flavour to themouth, thus serving to eithertemporarily ward off hunger orto “whet the appetite”. Thename lent to this delicacy bythe sinuous Rita Hayworth hasgiven rise to any number offantasies.

But eating standing up, snackingor partaking of the occasionalmorsel was languishing in arepetitive choice of wares.

However, competitions and anumber of adventurous barsstarted to create sophisticatedmouth-sized stove-to-barpreparations. So muchspecialization brought new lifeto the virtually obsolete termof “miniature cuisine”. Fabuloussnacks soon started lining thebar-tops, to the point that settingout for a round of pintxos beganto take the place of a lunch ordinner.

What had until then beentypical only of San Sebastiánstarted spreading to otherBasque towns and cities. Eachyear, the different pintxocompetitions in Donostia, Bilbaoand Vitoria mark the newtendencies of this delicious andincreasingly popular “barcuisine”. Standards have unifiedcriteria and now, to be able to

3130

At present, for gastronomic purposes, winter is a seasonthat is as well assorted as the others. Nevertheless,traditional cuisine doe not forget that, inother times, all the productspreserved from more generousseasons was eaten in winter: drybeans, apples, chestnuts or nutspicked in Autumn, products of thepig slaughter… All these things,washed with natural ciderproduced in that season.

SEASON PRODUCTS

SPECIALITIES

Beans ‘with everything’. The main varietiesof bean grown in the Basque Country (the ones of Tolosa,of Gernika and the Álava pinto bean) are of high quality.Prepared with streaky bacon, black pudding, sparerib, orchorizo (hard pork sausage) –or a little of everything- anda bit of cabbage, they are a really forceful dish.

Elvers. In winter, the elvers(tiny baby eels) have the rightsize are in the right place: someBasque rivers. There are more andscarcer nowadays, so they are aluxury product served cookedwith a simple refried in which wecannot fail to include a red chilli.We can say something similarabout the sea bream, which is inits best moment during the

winter months.

WinterThere are times in the yearwhen we have to work hardso that the land and the seado their best. The autumnis also a time related to theharvest –beans, grapes–, butin this season the huntingis within range, there aremore fungi, and the treesdrop their fruits. Therefore,we just need to pick what nature offers.

SPECIALITIES

Fungi Grill. Some good black fungi (onddo beltzak)or white (onddo zuriak), all of them from the ‘boletus’family, are the best squires for the king of fungi, the Caesar’smushroom, gorringo or kuleto (amanita caesaria) that, asits name says, is an imperial delight. Scrambled eggs withfungi are also a good option, but the best examples do notneed accompaniment.

Pochas with… With quails, with clams,with foie, with streaky bacon... Pochas (haricotbeans) have this name due to the pale look of their pod,which hides in itsinside a pulse with avery fine skin and asmooth texture, whichhas an extraordinaryability to co-live withother products.

Autumn

SEASON PRODUCTS

Above all, in summer, the Basque cuisine looks at the sea.In this season of festivities and days that start to steal

hours to the night from San Juan solstice,the sun not only invites us to enjoythe atmospheres in the pavementcafés of the carveries and to gothrough the streets being pervaded

by their smell; it also gets the vegetablegarden products ready.

SEASON PRODUCTS

SPECIALITIES

Grilled Baby Squids. In their own ink orwith onion, they are delicious, but the small size of thesehooked squids, are caught in this season, and their tendernessmake them the perfect candidates for this kind ofpreparation, which does not change their look or theirflavour.

Tuna Ventresca. Many people think this is thebest part of tuna, although it is not the most beautiful one.With white meat and fine fat streaks, it has a delicate andslightly greasy texture. It is better appreciated baked, aslong as the boiling time –tuna’s Achilles heel- is not toolong.

Txakoli. It is not aproper summer speciality,since its is consumed allthe year, but the fact thatthis young wine is drunkfresh and is the perfectcompany for fish give it akind of summer character.

Summer

Looking at the calendarSpring is not always early in the Basque Country andcomes accompanied by products with an extraordinarysoftness and fineness and with a usually ephemeralpresence. They rarely arrive at the market in largenumber, so they are valued in accordance to theirsmall quantity.

SEASON PRODUCTS

SPECIALITIES

Anchovies with garlic. During this season,the Cantabrian Sea anchovy is unmistakable. Small andwith an intense flavour, weonly need to expose it toa brief contactwith veryhot oil,previouslyspiced withgarlic and atip of hot pepper to lick,literally speaking, our fingers.

Mackerel Marmitako. The mackerel arrivesat Basque ports in the spring months. This blue fish of thetuna family, with an intense flavour and solid meat, admitscountless preparations. For example, it can be the base ofan excellent marmitako, a watery stew with fish, potatoand pepper, which is traditionally made with tuna.

Mamia or curd. The traditional season for thisclassical dish, nowadays turned into a dessert, coincides

with the period of breeding of the sheep (fromthe end of winter to the middle of spring). Then

is when their milk is under the best conditionsfor ‘solidifying’ by means of the action of the

rennet. If the milk is warmed as it wastraditionally done, using hot stones or irontools, it acquires a very peculiar flavour.

Spring

• From the land. Winter months are not very generoustalking about fruits and vegetables, but there are manyingredients for elaborating delicious soups that will helpus to get warm, like the porrusalda (leek and potato soupusually with cod). We also have typically winter vegetablessuch as berzas (cabbages), cauliflowers, or thistles.

• From the cask. While the grape juice that, aroundSeptember, was elaborated inRioja Alavesa starts its longway to become a great wine,the cider speeds up the limitsand, in January, the apple juicewill have already becomenatural cider. From here, wehave four months for tastingit directly from the cask orkupela, with a good cutlet,scrambled eggs with cod, nuts,quince, and Idiazabal cheese.

• From the land. Besides all the things that trees provide–in the case of some fruits we need a time for drying beforebeing consumed-, the most appreciated mycological varietiesare in their best. Moreover, during a few weeks of transitionbetween the end of summer and the beginning of autumn,we can taste the freshness of the most delicate pulse: theharicot bean.

• From the sky. The BasqueCountry is located in the heartof birds’ migration route, so thegame dishes in autumn becomethe star dishes in manyrestaurants. The big game, needsspecial permissions, basicallyprovides wild boars, althoughthere are also deer, that can becommercialised.

• From the land. The main characteristics of typical springdelicacies such as perretxikos or zizas (spring mushrooms),and of the first broad beans and peas are the fineness andsoftness in their aspect and flavour are. They welcomelight preparations that enhance all their nuances.

• From the sea. As if the land and the sea had an agreement,small and finely flavoured are also the Cantabrian Seaanchovies, a specially scarce fish that the Basque inshorefishing fleet starts to catch, almost in an artisan way, woundMarch or April.

• From the land. Thevegetable garden takesadvantage of the fact thatthe sun finally shines. Theintense flavoured tomatoesand the peppers are someof the main beneficiariesof this season’s weatherconditions.

• From the sea. San Pedro Festivity, celebrated at the endof June, marks the beginning of the fishing season of thewhite tuna, the king of tuna fishes. July and August arealso the most favourable months for fishing and eating thesmall hooked baby squids. Moreover, it is also time forsardines. Very few dishes have so much flavour, in all thesenses of the word, as a portion of sardines in a carvery ofany Basque port.

3332

Method: Whisk the eggs and the glass sugar. Meltthe butter. Delicately mix these two preparations, addingthe ground nuts slowly and carefully.

Put the mixing into individual moulds and bake themduring 10 minutes approximately at 175 degrees Celsius.

Presentation: Once the nut cake is removedfrom its mould, we can combine this dessert with stewedpears.

INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS

Method: Beat the eggs, adding the milk and thesugar.

Separately, cut the brioche in approximately 4cm slices.Add the slices to the mixing of beaten eggs, milk and sugar,leaving it to soak during 10 minutes approximately.

Once the mixing is soaked, drain the slices and fry themin butter.

Presentation: If we want to highlight the course,we can caramelise the torrijas and serve them with amilkshake ice cream.

Álava - ArabaBasque people like finishing their meals with simpledesserts at the standard of their gastronomy. If ciderbars traditionally finish the meals with IdiazabalCheese, quince jelly and nuts, other places offermore elaborated desserts, like the ‘goxua’, typical ofVitoria-Gasteiz: a base of tipsy sponge cake withlayers of pastry cream, whipped cream and caramel,which makes an irresistible combination.

The solid Basque cake, coming from the otherside of the Bidasoa River, competes with

the rice cakes and the typical creamrolls of Bilbao. During the

festivity of San Marcosin the region of Bidasoa-

Txingudi the ‘opillas’are the traditionaldesserts. These

peculiar sponge cakesare made of hard-boiled

eggs and the tradition saysgodmothers must give them

to their godchildren.

Another typical dessert in theBasque Country is the ‘intxaur-

saltsa’ or nut cream. Roasted orboiled chestnuts, roasted applesand stewed fruits are also verytypical.

Among the dairy desserts we muststand out the Idiazabal cheesewith Denomination of Origin,

always elaborated with latxa sheepmilk, the curd (here known as

‘mamia’), the rice pudding, and theleche frita (dessert made of milk thickened

with flour, coated with egg and fried), as well as thetorrijas (bread soaked in milk and fried in butterwith honey or sugar and wine).

The three Basque capital cities have prestigiousconfectioners’ where it is difficult to resist temptationwith the sweet charms of its crafts products.Nevertheless, other Basque towns and villages alsostand out due to their confectionery, like Orduña,with its popular mantecadas (small cakes), Mendaro,home of a centenary chocolate firm, or Tolosa,famous due to their confectioner’s creations.

These pages propose some contemporary and easyrecipes for cooking lovers, based on the traditionalingredients and flavours of the Basque Country.

200g ground nuts

4 eggs

175g glass sugar

75g butter

400g of brioche bread

1 litre milk

1 dozen eggs

175g sugar

Desserts, the sweetest ends

B r i o c h e t o r r i j a

BizkaiaN u t c a k e

Method: For the crud, simmer the milk until itcomes to the boil, leave it to cool down to 40 degrees andadd the rennet, letting it stand.

Separately, bake the puff pastry. Leave it to cool and stuffit with the curd.

Presentation: It is advisable to caramelise thepuff pastry. The course is improved if served with a cookingapple puree, as in Errezil style.

50g puff pastry

1 litre sheep milk

Rennet

GipuzkoaC u r d p u f f p a s t r y

INGREDIENTS