Gastronomy of the Basque Country

The gastronomy of the Basque Country is recognized both nationally and internationally.

Product and raw material

Much of the secret of Basque cuisine is based on the use of products and raw materials of excellent quality prepared in a simple way. Among these products are fish, mainly hake, and cod, bonito, sea bream, sardines, anchovies, sea bass and monkfish, the essence of Basque cuisine, prepared in different ways and with a variety of exquisite sauces. Other raw materials that should not be forgotten are sheep and beef meats and legumes and vegetables such as Tolosa beans, broad beans, green beans or pods, leeks, cabbage, asparagus, peas.

The most important cheeses are made from sheep's milk and among them the Idiazabal denomination of origin stands out. Both milk and cheese are produced in the Basque Country as well as in Navarra. The only reason to call this Denomination with the name of “Idiazabal” is that it is its best known appellation.

There is also an abundance of artisan sheep's milk cheeses or the sweet sheep's milk cheese made by the monks of the Belloc Abbey.
All these foods are accompanied by a good wine from the Rioja Alavesa, or a good txakolí, wine produced from green grapes.

Gastronomic societies

A typical form of meeting is the gastronomic societies o txokos, Basque private societies that offer the opportunity to their members and guests to enjoy high quality dishes. Its creation dates from the early nineteenth century, a copy of the British meeting centers, where members met, cooked, ate, sang the “Bilbainadas” or other songs typical of the land and played cards and then left Chiquiteo by the respective old areas of the city to drink and eat more, the "Bilbainadas" and "Bilbainadas". pintxos. These are undoubtedly a very popular and appreciated specialty.

The Porrusalda, the Pisto a la bilbaina, the marmitako and above all, the Bacalao al pil pil, a complicated elaboration of fish stew, accompanied by a gelatinized emulsion of oil and garlic. As desserts we must highlight the Goxua, The Basque Cake, a very popular sweet, but also the Basque Cake, the Curd, the Fried Milk and the Cream Toast.

DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

As designations of origin, the Basque Country has products of excellent quality, which are:

Txacolí:

They are dry white wines, somewhat sparkling, with high acidity and low alcohol content. In addition to the Basque Country, they are produced in Cantabria, in the north of Burgos and in Chile. They are usually drunk as an aperitif within a year of bottling, as they then begin to decompose. The most common txakoli is white, but there are also reds and rosés.

Traditionally, txakoli wine was only made in a homemade way and, for that reason, it was in danger of extinction. But since some varieties of txakoli obtained the DOP in 1989, its quality improved notably, and also its propagation.until that moment, it was fermented in oak barrels, very old and large, but after obtaining the DOP most of them started to ferment in stainless steel tanks. There are three certified varieties of txakoli: Txakoli de Alava, Txakoli de Bizkaia, Txakoli de Getaria.

Beef from P.Vasco or Euskal Okela:

Recognized as a PGI, it comes from animals born and raised in the farms of the Basque Country. The animals are raised in a traditional way, focusing on the conditions that affect their health and welfare and establishing very specific requirements regarding their feed. They consume authorized feed that is elaborated from a positive list of raw materials.

Idiazabal cheese:

Cheese with an intense and balanced flavor, made in an artisanal way with raw milk from laxta sheep, the autochthonous sheep breed of Euskal Herria and Navarra. It has two varieties: black-faced and blond-faced.

Wines DO CA Rioja. DO Cava:

Wines made with grapes native to the area, so they acquire a great fruit aroma, within a perfectly balanced whole. There are several wines with PDO of the Basque Country: Ladrón de Guevara Crianza, Ladrón de Guevara Reserva Tinto, Ladrón de Guevara Autor Tinto Crianza, Ladrón de Guevara Autor Tinto Crianza, Ladrón de Guevara Reserva Tinto Tinto Crianza and Ladrón de Guevara Reserva Tinto Tinto Tinto Crianza.

MAIN TRADITIONAL DISHES OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

As we have said before, Basque cuisine is probably one of the most recognized in Spain, so we will briefly explain some of its traditional dishes:

Cod in pil pil sauce:

The pil-pil sauce is a gelatinous sauce obtained by binding olive oil with the whey released by the fish when frying it. The name “pil-pil” comes from the sound that the sauce makes in its preparation, for which an earthenware casserole is usually used.

Kokotxas:

Kokotxas are a part of the fish obtained from the lower part of the head. These V-shaped pieces have the peculiarity of being very gelatinous. In Basque cuisine, the most commonly used are those of hake or cod and are prepared in different ways, the most typical being Kokotxas in green sauce or pil pil.

Marmitako:

It is a seafood stew based on bonito tuna. This dish owes its name to the word marmita, which was the original container in which marmitako was originally prepared on board fishing boats. Its main ingredients are: bonito, potatoes and chorizo peppers.

Squid in its ink:

This is a traditional Basque dish that has been around for years. There are different ways of preparing it, although in most cases bell pepper, onion and squid ink are used to prepare the sauce that accompanies the squid.

Porrusalda:

Porrusalda takes its name from the Basque language, “porru” leek and “salda” soup. An ideal first course to eat in winter that consists of vegetables (mainly leek), potatoes, cod and chorizo peppers.

Scrambled eggs of perretxikos:

Any self-respecting mushroom recipe lover knows this traditional stir-fry made with perretxikos, eggs, garlic and olive oil. In mushroom season it can be found in many restaurants, and sometimes some type of mushroom is used instead of perretxiko.

Ratatouille a la bilbaína:

Although ratatouille is not a typical Basque dish, ratatouille a la bilbaína differs from the rest because the ingredients are cut into very small pieces and when cooked with the eggs it takes the form of a dry and thick, but undoubtedly delicious, puree.

The sukalki:

In the Basque regional festivals it is customary to hold cooking contests and one of the most common is sukalki, a stew made with meat, onion, carrot, potato, pea, chorizo bell pepper and garlic.

Txangurro:

A renowned dish is the txangurro donostiarra, made from the meat of the spider crab and accompanied with onion, tomato, breadcrumbs and brandy.

Basque cake:

A delicious dessert that cannot be missed at any popular fair in the Basque Country. Originally from Lapurdi, almonds are used to make the dough, which is then covered with pastry cream and baked in a round mold.

Curd:

It is the Basque dessert par excellence and consists simply of curdled sheep's milk.

Goxua:

Dessert of origin from Vitoria, whose basic ingredients are sponge cake, cream and caramelized pastry cream.

The gastronomy of the Basque Country is undoubtedly one of the richest cuisines in the world.