Author: Mike McDougall


With its turbulent and rich history, the Basque region, in
Spain's north east, must be regarded as one of it's most
interesting. Once a separate kingdom but now absorbed into
Spain, Basques are a still fiercely independent and proud race
with their own language and cultural heritage. Certainly in
culinary circles they have a lot to be proud of, the area is
traditionally regarded as Spain's finest for gastronomy and a
seemingly endless production line of top chefs and Michelin
stars have maintained the area's reputation as a gourmand's
dream.

Food is engrained into the everyday fibre of Basque life and is
a very serious business to most people in the region. The men
are often members of gastronomic societies, steeped in
tradition, who take it in turns to prepare huge feasts for the
rest of the members. Women are generally not welcome to enter
these culinary brotherhoods but they do get invited to come
along on certain special occasions. Slightly archaic some would
say but these practices have been going on for a long time.

Like all good culinary areas, the Basques marry the traditions
of sea and land. Probably more famous for its abundant fish, the
hilly interiors of the region produce cheese (often made from
Ewe's milk such as Idazabal), green peas and mushrooms. The
spring months see the sprouting of the regions most famous
mushroom, the highly sort after and expensive "Zizaks", a
particular favourite in the Alava area of the region.

A distinct lack of good pasture land in the region has
traditionally driven up the price of livestock but the hilly
hinterlands of the Basque region do produce a leaner, often
tastier breed of sheep, cow or pig. Local meat specialities
include "txerri patak" (pig's feet), the famous "Morcilla"
(blood sausage) and "Lengua a la Tolosana" (calf's tongue) which
is simmered in wine with tomatoes and onion. These dishes show
that the Basques don't share the British and American
squeamishness of using every part of the animal.

With a long coastline across the bottom corner of the Bay of
Biscay the region has a long tradition of seafaring and fishing.
As you'd expect, the Atlantic Ocean's bounty is prevalent in a
typical regional kitchen. The plentiful waters yield
langoustines, hake, anchovies, tuna and squid to name but a few
of the favourites. "Angulas" (juvenile eels, known as Elvers in
English) are something of a delicacy and can fetch up to £250
per pound and the "Chiporones" (Baby squid) are regarded as some
of the sweetest you'll find anywhere. Favourite recipes include
"Merluza en Salsa Verde" (Hake in green sauce), "Marmitako" (a
classic fisherman's stew made with tuna) and "Bacalao al
Pil-Pil" (salt cod in a garlic sauce).

If fine dining or just old fashioned good eating, are your thing
then you could do a lot worse than a trip to the Basque country,
indeed, it's the perfect place for a culinary odyssey. San
Sebastián is recognised as one of the world's finest cities for
foodies, whether it's for the endless amount bars serving a
limitless array of "pintxos" (the Basque word for tapas) or
whether you want to sample some of the finest haute cuisine in
Spain. Many have tried and failed to eat their way around this
city but have had an amazing gastronomic journey in the process.
The Basques even have the word "txikiteo" - loosely translated
as "tapas spree", a sort of bar crawl where food, rather than
alcohol, is the main concern (I'm sure we Brits have been
missing a trick somewhere along the line). For more formal
dining there area boasts a lot of choice, there are no less than
eight Michelin starred restaurants in or nearby the city and a
host of others springing up around the rest of the Basque
region. The most famous restaurant is undoubtedly "Arzak",
pretty much a permanent resident in the restaurant worldwide top
50 list. Head chef and charismatic leader of the Basque "neuva
cocina" revolution, Juan Mari Arzak, epitomises all that is good
about modern Basque cooking, combining the same fresh
ingredients with a radical new spin