This is a recipe that first appeared in the recipe book of “La Nicolasa” in the 1920s. La Nicolasa was a cheff who had a restaurant in San Sebastian named after her. At home this book edited in the 1920’s is like a bible. It is a bit broken and out of its time but the content is very valuable. We can think of it as one of the pillars of Basque haute cuisine as some of the recipes are still valid today. Above all you can find recipes for traditional fish such as cod, sea bass, seafood and game meats such as quail, partridge, pheasant and deer. It is a very illustrative book about the origins of Basque cuisine.

Quails in Spanish sauce

The Spanish sauce is an onion-based sauce so we will need 1 onion for every 2 quails. 2 tablespoons of olive oil for each quail. 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar for each quail. 1 glass of white and red wine (50/50) per each quail. We will also add spices such as a sprig of thyme, a sprig of rosemary, black pepper, a sprig of parsley, a bay leaf (it is important to remove the bay leaf before crushing the sauce) and 1 clove per quail.

Cut the onion into more or less thick rings and place in a deep pot with the rest of the ingredients.

Season the outside and inside of the quails with salt and pepper and place on top of the casserole dish. Then cover the top of the casserole. Start to cook over low heat and the quails will cook with the aromatic vapors of the sauce. Let it cook over low heat. Always in the upper part of the casserole without submerging or mixing with the onions. After 1 hour they are usually ready to be removed to a plate. You can check by pulling one of the thighs. If it is tender and can be released, they are ready.

When we remove the quails to a plate we continue cooking the sauce over low heat. It can be another 3 hours until the sauce is reduced and takes a brown tone.

When the sauce is ready we remove the bay leaf and grind it. After passing the sauce we add the quails and let them rest in the sauce. It is best to leave them like this all night to eat them the next day.

Enjoy it!

“Percebe” in Spanish and “lamperna” in basque

Goose barnacles in the Basque Country is one of those strange things that are eaten in northern Spain. It is a seafood that grows on the most exposed rocks of the North Atlantic Ocean from Portugal and northern Spain to the coasts of France and the United Kingdom. It needs very rich and wild seas. This type of barnacle grows in the heart of the cliffs in its most inaccessible cracks, where the waves beat without stopping. This type of molluscs are found clinging to the rock and remain immobile, that is to say that they do not move. They grow in colonies of numerous individuals and hey have a head protected by a shell where resides what may look like a crab. With this part it filters the water and obtains its food. They feed on the plankton of the sea. The part more appreciated by the gastronomy is the muscular part that unites the mollusk to the rock. . It is a very fleshy and juicy part of the mollusk.

How they collect the goose neck barnacles from the rocks?

It is a risky profession since the “percebeiros” must go down to the rocks tied up with a safety harness and take advantage of the moments when the waves are not coming. At that moment they descend into the crevice and begin to collect the mollusks. Their companion who is in the highest part warns him of when the waves come. At that moment the “percebeiro” goes up again to the high part of the rock and waits for the sea to go down again. It is very risky but the price may be worth it because the market price per kilo is between 60€ and 120€. Depending on the origin and size of the specimens. The bigger the better!

How to cook the goose neck barnacles?

It’s very simple, you put water with salt(70 grames per liter) in a pot and heat it up until it is boiling. If you want you can add a bay leaf to give a special aroma. When the water boils, add the barnacles, at that moment it will stop boiling. Immediately when it starts boiling again wait for 1 minute and the “barnacles” are removed to a plate. We recommend opening a bottle of white wine such as a bottle of Txakoli from Guetaria.

What can be said about its taste? It is as if you eat a bit of sea. It tastes like the sea!

Spanish goose neck barnacles

Video of the percebes fishing in Galicia, the gaelic part of Spain.

Iberian ham introduction

In Spain when we buy a ham we don’t mess around. We buy a whole leg and put it in the kitchen. There’s nothing better than this and it’s usually done in Christmas.

The ham has to be Iberian race and fed with acorns. This is the best ham in the world. There may be some variations in quality depending on the diet but the breed must always be the same.Within the world of Iberian hams there are some differences and these are according to the type of food and the lifestyle of the animals.

The lowest range of the Iberian pork ham is the one in which the animal has been fed with all kinds of food, normally feed, and also has not enjoyed a breeding in freedom. These hams have affordable prices that can be around 200 euros.

Medium quality Iberian hams are those animals that have received a combination of food. Natural foods such as acorns and also some feed. They are animals that spend a part of their life free in the countryside and another part stabled in farms. They are very good quality hams and their prices can be around 300 or 400 euros.

The best Iberian ham comes from animals raised in freedom feed with natural foods and mainly acorns. These animals have a very active life and this makes the quality of their meat exceptional. The prices of these hams are between 500 and 700 euros.

Iberian ham is bred in a specific area of Spain where the natural environment and climate conditions are key. The “Spanish Dehesa” is located throughout the western part of Spain on its border with Portugal. It is a very specific ecosystem in which oaks and holm oaks abound.

When you buy the ham leg

The characteristics of a Spanish iberian ham are clear to see. The hoof must be totally black and the cut of the piece with a drawing like in V. These are the most obvious signs that we are dealing with an Iberian ham.

When you buy a whole leg you need a support to put it on. Once you have the ham in place, you start cutting the thickest part, i.e. with the hoof facing upwards. To cut the ham you need a knife with a large, sharp blade. The ham should be cut in thin slices and each slice should be approximately the size of our tongue so that it is deposited on it and we can extract all the flavor.

An Iberian ham is anatomically wrapped in its own fat but the fat must also be infiltrated into the muscle. That’s why in the cut we must observe the streaks of fat along the meat.

I invite you to try this ham because it is one of the most delicious things you can eat in this world. I  remember the first time a client from Australia told me that he did not know what Iberian ham was. He almost gave me something, it was very sad. Soon we solved it with a good plate of ham cut with a knife. I think that customer will remember it for a lifetime.

Pintxo tasting tour