Basque Fed

When peppers arrived to Europe from the Americas in the 16^th century, they were quickly appropriated by the Basques who learned that in addition to trading, they could cultivate this highly valued commodity locally for themselves. Thus, peppers were introduced to the Basque soil and climate over 400 years ago.

By contrast to the dryer, hotter temperatures of Mexico, Central and South America, the Basque climate is wetter and cooler. The heat and spiciness normally associated with peppers is often lacking in guindillas, pimientos de piquillo, and other peppers, which adjusted to their new environment. As such, the peppers grown locally bear little resemblance to their American forebearers, having evolved into a uniquely Basque product[1].

Of the peppers that remain to be discussed, two of them are one in the same. The pimiento de Gernika, a long green pepper picked young and served fresh, fails to be labeled as such when it is left to pass through adolescence into adulthood. In this case, one finally arrives at the bright red pimiento choricero. Though theoretically the same pepper, here we’ll treat them separately due to their distinct and inimitable place in Basque cooking and manner of eating.

The pimiento de Gernika, or Gernika pepper, enjoys pride of place as the companion to the protein-laden entrée it usually accompanies. Served on a plate all their own, pimientos de Gernika are typically fried in olive oil with garlic until they’re shriveled and slightly browned. They are finally sprinkled with a generous hand of fat salt grains. Slightly bitter, these peppers are great with steak or on their own as a ración (small plate), eaten with a cold beer.

The pimiento choricero, on the other hand, is a red pepper utilized in cooking and the elaboration of sausages like chorizo. Coveted for its meaty interior, the pimiento choricero is typically sold dried. To use it, it must be rehydrated over the course of a few hours, after which time the flesh is scraped out. It is also sold in glass jars as a paste, in which case the flesh has already been extracted for you. Once obtained, the meat is employed in the preparation of stews and sauces, adding a characteristic red color and sweet or spicy flavor (depending on whether it is of the dulce or picante variety) to the dish.

Finally, there is the piment d’Espelette, a pepper cultivated in French Basque Land, or Pays Basque. Available fresh, dried, or as a powder, the piment d’Espelette is perhaps the most versatile of the Basques’ peppers. Fresh piment d’Espelette are used in piperade, a vegetable ragout served with eggs and/or cured ham. They are also blended into a purée – indeed, the spiciest form of this pepper – and utilized in the preparation of grilled meats like lamb and pork. In its dried state, the pepper loses a signifant degree of heat, its flavor becoming smoother. At this point, it can be ground into a powder. As a spice, the piment d’Espelette knows no limit, adding flavor to items like bread, sausages, mustard, ketchup, olive oil, honey, chocolate, ice cream, and even wine.

Whether served as a pintxo, cooked in a sauce, or used as a flavoring, peppers find their way into almost every aspect of Basque gastronomy. And the value afforded them exists on both sides of the Basque border. Spanish Basques have a selection from which to pick and choose, and French Basques boast one pepper with seemingly unlimited utility. But this is not a contest. National boundaries notwithstanding, the Basques are of the same mind when it comes to cuisine. Peppers, in this case, have a long history in the Basque Country, during which time the people have determined their ideal growing conditions and their best uses. Ultimately, we find that the  importance of peppers in Basque Land is based not only on their prevalence in the local gastronomy, but on the very qualified evaluation of their quality and elaboration by the governments that protect them and the consumers who would accept nothing less.

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[1] As pimientos de piquillo are grown in Navarra, a former province of País Vasco and currently a community of Spain, their status as Basque is contentious. Due to regional divisions, one can argue that pimientos de piquillo, for instance, are Navarrese or Spanish.

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