Basque cuisine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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[edit] 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 is a Museum of Gastronomy in Llodio.
[edit] 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, <a href="/wiki/Tortilla_de_patatas" title="T