Basque cuisine is unique and influenced by Spanish and French traditions. It focuses on fresh, locally available ingredients, fish, lean meats, vegetables, breads, cheeses, wine, and spirits. Txikiteo, a tradition of hopping from bar to bar for small plates of appetizers, is a popular Basque food culture.
Basque cuisine is quite unique, just like the Basques, who live on the border between Spain and France. The food in this region is certainly influenced by Spanish and French culinary traditions, but the Basques sometimes take their food in new and surprising directions. Sadly, Basque restaurants abroad rarely focus on the wide range of Basque cuisine, instead focusing on popular meat dishes rather than the many options found in the Basque Country.
The history of the Basque people is often a subject of debate. Many Basques argue that they are culturally and genetically distinct from other European peoples and that as such they represent an extremely unique community. Basques live in both Spain and France, in a region that is sometimes referred to as the Basque country. In the Basque Country, people speak the Basque language, which appears to be an isolate, completely different from any living European language, and cook food that focuses on fresh, locally available ingredients as well as preserved fish and meat.
One of the main components of Basque cuisine is fish, ranging from cod to fresh young eels. The Basques have historically been a seafaring community and most of the creatures that can be found in the sea crop up in their food. In the inland parts of the Basque Country, lean meats such as goat and sheep are relied more on, as well as high-quality beef. Basque cuisine also uses vegetables grown in the Ebro Valley, including many beans, corn and potatoes.
Like many European communities, the Basques produce a range of breads and cheeses and accompany their meals with wine and an assortment of spirits, including Txakoli, Patxaran and Izarra. They also have plenty of offal such as brains and liver in their kitchen and expertly preserve a range of meats, from smoked cured sausage to Basque hams. The tradition of Basque cuisine is simple and rich, with clear and bright flavours.
One of the most interesting aspects of Basque food culture is txikiteo, a tradition of hopping from bar to bar for pintxos or small plates of appetizers. In major Basque cities, a huge percentage of the population can be seen on txikiteo on weekends, with some establishments becoming particularly famous for special dishes. Basque culture places a strong emphasis on enjoying food and company, and it is a great privilege to be invited on a txikiteo.
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