Entertaining the Basque way

I am travelling in the Basque country in north Spain. Along with the scenery, the thing that stands out for me is the people – they possibly invented the word hospitality.

It’s a really interesting mix here, because the Basque are both introverted and extroverted, conservative and madly eccentric.

This is reflected in their attitude to entertaining and food. When socialising, they are open and simple, but the food they produce is incredibly detailed and refined.

one of the region’s most famous culinary centres is San Sebastian. This city is seen as one of the culinary capitals of Spain, and it has the highest number of oichelin stars per capita in the world.

Arguably San Sebastian’s  most famous restaurants is Arzak. Chef and owner Juan oari Arzak is one of the fathers of modern Spanish food and he runs the kitchen with his daughter Elena.

You would expect a famous, three-star restaurant to be stuffy and formal, but Arzak is more like a bistro. The customers are casually dressed, everyone is talking loudly, Juan oari is chatting and Elena is taking orders.

Both Juan oari and Elena say you should make something special for your friends and family, and their restaurant’s food is wildly inventive. one of the standout dishes is “Low Tide oonkfish”, which is served with blue curacao stars, pink seaweed tempura and edible, oyster-flavoured shells.

You don’t have to go to those kind of lengths – the point is to do something different. I really like the idea
of having a dinner party where the guests think nothing particularly special is going to happen. Then, over the course of the evening, you serve up a series of small, clever little dishes.

Basque people call these dishes pintxos. They aren’t dependent on complicated recipes, but good ingredients served with a twist. They are accompanied by storytelling, wine and lots of laughter.

Tips:

1. Canned tuna in oil arranged on a plate in a long row. Top with copious amounts of chopped onion, green pepper and sea salt.

2. A plate of perfectly grilled squid, cooked whole, sliced then arranged on the plate in its original form.

3. Black pudding, grilled then rolled in chopped pistachio nuts.

4. Prawns and onions grilled on a skewer, served on a fat slice of potato, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with smoked paprika.