Basque cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Basque Country and includes meats and fish grilled over hot coals, marmitako and stew, cod, Tolosa bean dishes, from Lekeitio, (Basque tapas), Idiazabal sheep's cheese, txakoli (Sparkling wine white wine), and Sagardotegi.
A basquaise is a type of dish prepared in the style of Basque cuisine that often includes and sweet or hot red capsicum.
Overview
Basques have also been quick to absorb new ingredients and techniques from new settlers and from their own trade and exploration links.
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.
Olive oil is more commonly used than other vegetable oils in Basque cooking.
One of the staple cookbooks for traditional Basque dishes was initially published in 1933. "La cocina de Nicolasa" (the Kitchen of Nicolasa) by Nicolasa Pradera has gone into 20 editions.
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 () 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 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 specialty, whether it be , tortilla, toast, or seafood. The txikiteo is also popular in cities such as Pamplona and Bilbao.
Many bars will offer a combination of pre-made pintxos (such as gildas) that are typically cold as well as hot specialities that are made to order. Typically pintxos cost between one and three euros each.
Gerezi beltza arno gorriakin[, page 214] is a cherry soup served warm or cold. The cherries are poached in wine, often with enough sugar added to make a light syrup. A cherry without pits is preferred for this dish. To release their flavor, the cherries are carefully cherry pitter or cut in half. Usually the soup is prepared on the day it will be served, because 24 hours is enough time for the cherries to blanch noticeably in the liquid. The soup is often served with a dollop of sour cream, crème fraîche, or ice cream.
Gastronomic societies are organisations, almost always of men, who cook and eat together in a communal txoko.
New Basque Cuisine
In the 1970s and 1980s Basque chefs were influenced by the
nouvelle cuisine of France and created the
nouvelle cuisine basque, radically original in its form but solidly Basque in substance, with lighter and less rustic versions of traditional dishes and flavours. The first Spanish restaurant to be awarded 3 stars in the Michelin Guide was, in fact,
Zalacaín, a Basque restaurant, although located in Madrid. Juan Mari Arzak in Donostia became the most famous exponent and one of the first three-star
Michelin Guide restaurants in Spain.
In a few years the movement swept across Spain, becoming the state's default
haute cuisine. Many tapas bars, especially in San Sebastián, serve modern-style
pintxos employing novel techniques and ingredients. In more recent years, young chefs, such as Martin Berasategui, have given new impetus to Basque cuisine.
International Basque cuisine
Basque cuisine has continued to have an influence on international cuisine, particularly in Spain and France where it is highly regarded.
Catalan people 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. Basque cuisine has been enjoyed for decades in Kern County, CA and the area around Elko, NV where a large population of Basque settled. Teresa Barrenechea was among the first people to bring traditional Basque cuisine outside these area's with her first restaurant Marichu in Bronxville in 1991, where she hired Chef Joseba Encabo to set up, develop the menus and run the restaurant till soon later he was offered a position as faculty at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Teresa Barrenechea and husband Raynold von Samson continued to promote Basque cuisine in America by opening their second Marichu restaurant in Manhattan in 1994, which was close to the United Nations Headquarters. Teresa Barrenechea has written two books,
The Basque Table (Harvard Common Press, Boston 1998) and
The Cuisines of Spain (Ten Speed, Berkley 2005). Teresa Barrenechea is the holder of two awards: Premio Nacional de Gastronomía
(National Prize of Gastronomy, the highest culinary award given by the Spanish Administration) and Best Regional Cuisine Book at the 5th World Cookbook Fair,
Périgueux (France). At the other end of the scale, Basque-style
pincho bars are common in
Barcelona and
Madrid. In cities where large numbers of Basque people emigrated, such as
Buenos Aires,
Argentina; São Paulo,
Brazil,
Boise,
Idaho;
Fresno,
California, and
Bakersfield,
California, there are several Basque restaurants and a noted Basque influence on the local cuisine.
Originating from the La Viña pintxo bar is the now-internationally renowned Basque cheesecake.
Traditional dishes and desserts
Bacalao a pil pil, Bar Lo Gueno, Malaga.jpg| Bacalao al Pil-Pil
Piperade 01.jpg| Piperade
Chuleton de vaca.JPG| Txuleta
Merluza en salsa verde 1.jpg| Merlu koxkera
Dishes
Desserts
Gâteau Basque in Gastroteka Bimendi 2020-05 ac.jpg| Gâteau basque
Goxua.jpg| Goxua
Cuisine of the Basque Country-Intxaursaltsa 001.JPG| Intxaursaltsa
Products
Queso Idiazábal.jpg|Idiazabal cheese
Chistorra.jpg| Txistorra
EF-Photo Jambon de Bayonne14.jpg| Jambon de Bayonne
Cheeses
Fruits and vegetables
Meats
Beverages
Further reading
External links
