Essentially Basque: Bringing Spanish Cooking Home
by Ryan Bartlow and Laurie Woolever · New cookbook
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A home-kitchen guide to Basque-Spanish cooking, with plating tips, cocktails and menus built around pintxos, stews, fish and the drinking culture that goes with it all. Out October 13, right as Basque Country keeps turning up on best-restaurant lists, this is the book that explains why everyone keeps going on about it.
Two to cook tonight
Chef’s own recipes in the spirit of the book, so you can start cooking this way now. Not from the book: for those, get the book.
Gildas (Basque Pintxo Skewers)
This is the pintxo you'll see lined up on every bar top in San Sebastián: a sharp little bite of anchovy, olive and pickled pepper threaded onto a toothpick, built to go with a cold glass of txakoli or vermouth before dinner. No cooking involved, just good ingredients and a little assembly. Make a dozen and watch them vanish.
You need
- 12 good-quality oil-packed white anchovy fillets (boquerones)
- 12 pitted green olives (Manzanilla or similar)
- 12 pickled guindilla peppers (or other mild pickled green chile)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Flaky salt, optional
Method
- Lay out 12 small wooden skewers or toothpicks on a tray.
- Drain the anchovies and pat dry if they're very oily.
- On each skewer, thread one guindilla pepper (fold it in half if long), then one olive, then fold an anchovy fillet accordion-style and spear it on last so it drapes nicely.
- Arrange on a plate, drizzle lightly with olive oil, and add a pinch of flaky salt if you like.
- Serve right away at room temperature, with cold drinks alongside.
Marmitako (Basque Tuna and Potato Stew)
This is a fisherman's stew, built in the old days right on deck from whatever tuna and potatoes were on hand — it's humble food that happens to taste incredible. The trick is breaking the potatoes instead of cutting them cleanly, which lets them release starch and thicken the broth into something rich without any cream or flour. Serve it in deep bowls with crusty bread for mopping.
You need
- 2 lbs (900g) fresh tuna steak (yellowfin or similar), cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ripe tomatoes, grated (skins discarded), or 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (pimentón)
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 dried choricero pepper, soaked and flesh scraped out (or 1 tablespoon tomato paste as a substitute)
- 2 lbs (900g) potatoes, peeled
- 4 cups (1 liter) fish or light vegetable stock, plus more as needed
- Salt, to taste
- Chopped parsley, for serving
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and both bell peppers with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 10-12 minutes, until soft but not browned.
- Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the grated tomato, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, and choricero flesh (or tomato paste). Cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the mixture darkens slightly and smells rich.
- Break the potatoes into irregular chunks: cut partway with a knife, then twist and snap the rest. This rough surface helps thicken the stew.
- Add the potatoes to the pot and pour in the stock, just to cover. Bring to a simmer, then cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened slightly. Check seasoning and add salt as needed.
- Season the tuna chunks lightly with salt. Nestle them into the simmering stew, turn off the heat, cover, and let residual heat cook the tuna gently for 5-6 minutes, until just opaque through but still tender (don't boil it or it will turn tough and dry).
- Ladle into deep bowls, scatter with parsley, and serve immediately with crusty bread.
From cookbookdivas.com.
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