We have arrived in Basque Country. That lovely place in the north of Spain bordering the Sea of Biscay, full of rolling hills, forest, sea and an ancient rich culture. The Basque people have inhabited this area for a very long time. Their culture has strengthened through the test of time and persecution. They are a people who love food, good food and it is an integral part of who they are as a culture.
I sit here, computer in front of me, notebooks full of notes, piles of books littered with bright sticky notes bending out of the pages – facts, stories, recipes, and exploration on this place and I find myself stuck. I want to convey all that I discovered, and I keep being drawn back to a feeling, it is one that I did not read about, nor did I expect; the experience of being home.
I should explain and so I will begin at the beginning.
We spent the day crossing into Spain. I was so very excited, all my studying and research and expectation bubbling over in me. Rolling hills, forest and red tile roofed towns settled in valleys, we were in Basque Country. The plan was to stop at a market and grab provisions on our way to our Airbnb, about 20 km outside of Bilbao up a winding road through small towns, rolling hills and wild forest land. We were unaware that day was a Spanish holiday and therefore everything was closed, including any store selling or serving food. Not wanting to get stuck on hill roads in the dark we carried on, we had bread and peanut butter and would make do for the evening. Our directions via Google landed us at a horticultural educational center. We were not expecting this and were a bit confused. A wonderful woman walked up the road and with a bit of stumbling through my freshman Spanish, her freshman English mixed in with her Euskera, the Basque language – she directed us to the correct house next door, we had arrived. Oh, did we arrive, the gate opened to an amazing home sitting above an unforgettable landscape with a phenomenal view of rolling mountains for miles and a property filled with fruit and nut trees, las huertas (vegetable gardens), sheep and chickens! I could barely contain my excitement. We were at Artessoro Basseria, a sustainably built and run home, educational center and lovingly tended land by Roberto and Laura. I could go on for 20 pages about what they have created here, and I will sprinkle some through while I talk about food over the next few days – you can follow the link to their site and I encourage you to do so to see all they offer! https://artesoroa.com/
Laura and Roberto took us on a short tour of the house, accommodations and the land. The house was built over the past 25 years by Roberto using sustainable and ecologically friendly materials and methods and is run off the land. It is beautiful and the perfect place to enjoy all this land has to offer. Laura made us a delicious chocolate and orange cake and left us a bottle of red wine. After the long drive with no fresh groceries, I was ready for cake and wine for dinner! Then we toured the property, and I knew we were somewhere special. At first glance it looks like a stunning property to stroll and look at the views and as we toured, I realized this property was so much more. Everywhere you turn is something edible; fig and apple trees, grape vines, no till gardens full of lettuce, asparagus, onions and more. Herbs and flowers throughout the gardens. A teaching garden, outdoor bread oven and cider press. Chickens, sheep, a pig – even a peacock. I could stroll and wander here endlessly, and I was transported back to being a kid on a farm and joy struck me deep.
We weren’t having peanut butter sandwiches for dinner; I knew exactly what to do here! I grabbed my tote and headed out on a gathering mission. Salad, onions, herbs, oranges, eggs. I set the table and we feasted on fresh salad with orange herb dressing, 6-minute eggs and homemade croutons (find the recipe here). The red wine was dry and refreshing and the orange cake was light, airy and not too sweet. (Find cake recipe here) I was in love with this place already.
The next day we headed into Bilbao, one of the larger cities in the Basque region to visit the Guggenheim Museum and dig into some Pinxtos which is what the Basques call tapas. We went to the old part of town to Plaza Nueva which is lined with bars with case after case of Pinxtos. Each bar has a case with a variety of small bites, little sandwiches called bocadillos, small toasts topped with all sorts of goodies, Spanish omelets, olives, sardines, croquets – I could have sat and ate for hours! We ordered some bocadillos with Iberico ham and tuna, they are very popular here and are little sandwiches with either tomato puree or mayonnaise, topped with different meats and cheeses. I chose Iberico ham, famous in Spain which I will tell you all about when I visit the south of Spain and Tuna. Some croquettes, small fried balls of purred potatoes with cheese and ham – cheese, ham, mashed potatoes fried – need I say more? We paired them with a few zurritos and txikitos, small glasses of beer and wine and sat out in the courtyard watching people. This first taste of Spanish tapas did not disappoint. After a long day of roaming through Bilbao, we stopped for some gelato, finally made it to the grocery store and headed home. We were so full of Pinxtos we headed to the garden and ate salad, and chocolate orange cake for dinner.
That evening, sitting outside on the deck with a glass of wine, watching the bats dart to and fro like cute little bug killers, the cacophony of bird song was stunning. The owls and hawk screeches setting off the peacocks as the day birdsong changed over to the night birdsong. A cow in the distance trekking from on pasture to the next, cowbell clanking. I was thinking about the plans for the next day. We had a day packed with gastronomy museums, wine and cheese tasting and I was going to try caracoles and salt cod. Basque country has its own local wines and cheeses and salt cod or Bacalao, is a way of life here and I was looking forward to trying them all – well not the salt cod or caracoles (land snails that are a Spring obsession in Spain) but when in Spain! Basque country is one of the major food regions here. It has a large amount of Spain’s Michelin starred chefs and is credited for leading the new era of returning to local regional foods and celebrating them. It is the perfect place to visit museums and cultural centers where you can explore so much history and knowledge of the food of Spain and I have been planning these activities for months. Then I remembered a quote from The Basque Book:
“If you know how to pick out good raw ingredients, you can cook Basque Food. . . If you have a bottle of olive oil, a head of garlic, and a tin of tuna, you can make Basque food. Like a family, it is a cuisine that is much greater than the sum of its parts. And like a family it is basic, instinctive, and comforting. Give it your time and care and it will give you a home.”
The Basque Book
This quote brought me back to the feeling I was having about this land and the connection I was making to it; my instinct was begging me to explore this place and what better way to celebrate Basque food than walk the land you are on and use the food that is available right here? I had a bottle of very good olive oil, loads of garlic, some delicious Iberico ham cutlets and acres of possibility. I wanted to stay. So, I scrapped my plans and stayed home for the day. It was glorious!
I went and said hello to the chickens in the morning, my cup of coffee (pretty much drinking chocolate at this point) in hand, dew still hovering, the sun bright and warm and I walked the land. I walked through all of the gardens, took note of the herbs, visited the animals, fed the lambs. I listened to the cheerful laughter of children as they spent the day on the farm, learning about sustainable gardening and farming. I stumbled into Sonja, the woman who helped us find our way when we arrived. She toured the learning garden with me and taught me about the farming practices they have here. (see photo gallery for more information).
I headed to the garden for lunch, sauteed asparagus with garlic and olive oil, 6-minute eggs with paprika, more salad – I can’t get enough – and a glass of local Txacoli (cha-co-lee) white wine, dry and effervescent. It was so delicious (find recipe here). Two things fill my head as I write; one, I don’t feel like I have enough space on this post to describe what fresh asparagus, picked minutes before you eat it, tastes like – the sweet tenderness is unbelievable, and two, I don’t have enough space on this post to tell the story of how this brings me back to the dreamy parts of me as a child and morning dew and chickens and sunlight through apple blossom trees and eating garden vegetables brings me overwhelming joy, those are stories for another outlet. Just know that I felt I was home.
Back to the garden for dinner. Baby artichokes or alcochoas grilled with garlic and orange, Iberico ham cutlets with a honey paprika marinade, salad and potatoes – patatas. (find recipe here) and a bottle of Rioja – and of course more orange chocolate cake! We sat outside on the back porch and enjoyed the delicious meal and evening twilight.
The next day we were leaving, a bittersweet goodbye to this place, I walked the property with my coffee taking in every minute. I savored every bite of the last slice of cake for breakfast and took my bags to the car. Roberto and Laura came over to see us off and I got to spend some time with them, they are lovely and answered the myriad of questions I had!
Anytime I travel I know that most everywhere I travel I will not return to a place, it is part of traveling – there are places I wish I could go back to but I know there is more of the world I want to experience. This is one of the rare places in the world I will make a point to come back.
As I am wrapping up my second week of travel, I am learning what works for me in terms of documentation. Every day is fast moving and there is so much to take in, so much to share and I have done so much preparation for these moments my head is spinning. I have been taking notes and photographs and reading, what I struggle with is consolidating all the information into a post while I am traveling. This is all new for me and I am reminded that this is a learning experience, to let myself become immersed and don’t struggle with what it is supposed to look like. So with that I am letting myself continue to do what is working for me in terms of documentation and we shall see how that plays out through the length of this journey.
We are off to drive across the country, I can’t wait to see what else Spain has in store for me!