Basque cuisine: how to cook like a local

Basque cuisine

Basque Spain, known as Euskadi, includes the provinces of Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, Alava and parts of Navarra. The land of the Basques, Euskal Herria, actually continues much further along the coast, right through to the Pyrenees and into the French provinces of Lower Navarre, Labourd and Soule.

Basques simply love cooking, as much as to please themselves as to please others. The vegetables most strongly associated with the cuisine today are fresh, dried or preserved Basque peppers, both red and green. There are fresh or dry red Choriceros, cured or fresh green Piparras, Lodosa peppers (usually canned), hot red Guindillas or sweet Pimientos del Cristal, plus the French Piment d’Espelette. Basques also adore peas, especially the minute ones known as Lagrima (tear drops). Salads are often present on the Basque table, prepared with the popular Cogollos, which are Little Gem lettuces from Tudela; Escarola (Frisée or curly Endive); and young cartoons, which are particularly delicious in Navarra. Large cabbages that decorate traditional vegetable gardens are loved by everyone, especially when served with alubias negras (black beans), morcilla (black pudding) and Piparras. Due to the capricious weather conditions in ‘green’ Spain, tomatoes grown in the Basque Country can have an unbelievable taste. They’re served at restaurants and pintxo bars with very little preparation – just a little salt and olive oil.

Basques love fish served with a good sauce and there are four main classics: the vibrant green salsa verde (parsley sauce), complex red vizcaína (red onion and pepper sauce), amazing light yellow pil pil (olive oil and garlic sauce) and intense black sauce made with squid or cuttlefish ink. Lamb holds a special place in Basque cuisine, too – since ancient times mountains and valleys everywhere seem to be populated by hundreds of little white dots, which are the sheep feeding on rich pastures. When socialising in bars, Basques drink cider and beer. They drink red wine, mostly from Rioja and Navarra, and, of course, the delightfully fresh and slightly acidic txakoli white wine, produced in the areas of Orduña and Orozko in Vizcaya, and on the hilly slopes of Getaria in Guipúzcoa.

María's recipes from the Basque Country

Sardinillas con guacamole en tostada (Guacamole on toast with silver sardines)

Basque Country is a major producer of canned fish, including tuna, anchovies, sardines and sardinillas, which are tiny silver sardines – a true delicacy. Although guacamole is Mexican in origin, it’s been used frequently in the preparation of pintxos since the 80s. If you can’t find a Serrano pepper, use any other similar variety of green chilli pepper. Don’t make the guacamole too far in advance, as it will discolour.

Tortilla de patatas, cebolla morada y pimiento rojo (Potato omelette with caramelised red onion and red pepper)

There is no traditional way of cutting the potatoes when cooking a tortilla. You can slice them thinly, as I do, thickly or even dice them. The potatoes should never be parboiled but rather gently braised in plenty of olive oil along with, in this case, the onion and red pepper. The final result is not at all greasy, as most of the oil is drained off before the beaten egg is added. As the oil remains clean and very flavoursome, it can be reserved and used once more for another dish.

Chuleta a la parrilla con piquillos confitados (Charcoal-grilled T-bone steak with confit Piquillo peppers)

In the Basque Country, parrillero and parrillera are the men and women in charge of the grill. They are professionals working in asadores (restaurants that specialise in grilling meat or fish) as well as sidrerías (cider houses). I’ve eaten superb chuleta (T-bone steak) in these places, grilled to perfection over hot coals. You can cook a perfect chuleta on your own barbecue, as long as you follow my directions to the letter. The best steaks come from cows that are six or seven years old and should be 5cm thick, cut in a perpendicular way to ensure the same thickness at both ends. Once grilled and rested, cut the meat into thick slices and serve with potatoes, salad and roasted Piquillo peppers. I wrap a couple of potatoes in foil, bake them in the embers, then serve these with a little sea salt and extra-virgin olive oil.