-Basque recipes

TALO.........................................................

WHAT IS TALO AND  HOW TO MAKE IT:  

      Talo is a omelette made using flour from various native varieties of corn in the area of Mungia (Biscay), Basque Countries. For many years, particularly in the post-war period, talo and white beans had been staple foods in the diet of rural people in this region. It was the main element of every meal, from breakfast to dinner.

        The local varieties of corn used to make talo produce small cobs with very small compact grains, and have short growing cycles. They are usually sown together with white beans to benefit from the ability of beans, as a leguminous vegetable, to fix atmospheric nitrogen. 

          Associating these two crops has enabled minimal quantities of fertilizer to be required (traditionally manure provided by cattle from the same farms). Another feature of producing the corn flour for Mungia talo is roasting the cobs, which is done at low temperatures in wood-fired ovens at farms. After the cobs are roasted, the grains are removed and stone ground in watermills. 

         Formerly there were about a hundred of these mills, a proof of how important the activity was in the Butrón river basin of the Uribe district. Only four still operate.

The grinding process is very thorough and produces a low volume of excellent flour. 

The flour is kneaded with warm water and salt to make talo, a thin disk about 15 centimeters in diameter which is cooked on a hot steel plate. 

Talo is now mainly eaten at holidays, accompanied by chorizo sausage, bean soup, dried salted cod or, as a sweet treat, chocolate.

At village festivals talo is often prepared in a txosna, a stand containing cast-iron electric plates.

STUFFED PEPPERS..............................................

INGREDIENTS:

-MILK

-MINCE MEAT

-FLOUR

-RED PEPPERS

-OIL

-TOMATO SAUCE

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1) First, you clean the red peppers. 

2) Then you start making the white sauce. To do it, in a pot, you put a little bit of oil and you beat it with flour while you add the mince meat and the milk.

3) Then, when the white sauce in thick, you put it in a plate and you leave it there for about ten minutes. 

4)Then you start stuffing the red peppers.

5)Finally, you make the tomato sauce. In a pot you put the tomato sauce and flour (not much) and the stuffed peppers. You cook them for 6-8 minutes.

MUSHROOMS....................................................

INGREDIENTS:

-MUSHROOMS

-OLIVE OIL

-GARLIC

-HOT SPICES, if you want

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1)Clean the mushrooms, cut them in any shapes, whatever you want.

2)Heat some oil in a pan, and cook it between 20-30 minutes with a bit of garlic.

3)When you see it looks like you can eat it, take them and serve on a plate.

OMELETTE.................................................

INGREDIENTS:

-EGGS (6)

-POTATOES (4)

-SALT

-OIL

 HOW TO MAKE IT:

 1)First you must peel the potatoes and chop them in small pieces.

 2)Then beat the eggs and fry the potatoes in oil.

 3)Later, when the potatoes are fried, drain them well and mix it with the beaten eggs.

 4)Then add the salt and put it in a frying pan.

 5)Finally turn the omelette and it´s finished. 

“MARMITAKO”: TUNA CASSEROLE...........................

INGREDIENTS:

-POTATOES

-FRESH WHITE CLEAN TUNA

-OLIVE OIL

-ONION

-GREEN PEPPER

-CARROT

-PAPRIKA

-WATER

-WHITE WINE (1 GLASS)

-TOMATO SAUCE (3 SPOONFULS)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1)Chop the vegetables

2)Fry a little with olive oil the garlic, pepper and onion

3)Lower the flame, add the carrot

4)We let the ingredients get soft

5)Add white wine and leave the alcohol evaporating

6)Peel potatoes and cut into pieces

7)Add the potatoes to the sauce and add paprika (leave 30 min to soften the potatoes)

8)Cut the white tuna and remove bones

9)When the potatoes are soft we add the tuna and we leave it with the flame off, to cook it with the heat of the pot.

10)After 5 min of rest you can serve it.