Basque Piperade
Basque Piperade is a specialty from the French Basque country in the South of France that dates back to the early 1800s. This dish involves red peppers, onions and tomatoes which are sautéed and flavoured with red Espelette pepper. The dish is often accompanied by country bread, baby greens, and cabernet sauvignon.
 |
| The Basque Country |
The Basque country is an area located in the western section of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Basque Piperade is quintessentially Basquaise due to its use of Espelette pepper, an ingredient which the Basque country uses heavily. This pepper comes from the small village Espelette in Basque in the Southwestern-most corner of France. It dominates many dishes of the Basque region, providing them with the warm, spicy and rich tang that is quite typical of the Basque country.
 |
| Basque's Espelette peppers |
The Basque Country's official colour is red, and in this way the Basque Piperade is seen as quite regionally patriotic and strongly linked to the Basque country. This regional colour is heavily celebrated in Basque, where the colour is found on houses, on berets and also in many Basquaise dishes. Every year in October, the Basque village of Espelette celebrates its identity with a festival dedicated to its Espelette peppers and the colour red. Houses are decorated with peppers hung up to dry. In fact, the name 'piperade' dates back to the early 19th century's word 'piper' which means 'ground pepper' that has been prepared by crushing peppercorns.
 |
| Traditional Basque-style house |
 |
| Basque house decorated with Espelette peppers |
 |
| Basque flag |
Furthermore, Basque Piperade's regional significance in the Basque country is thickened as its ingredients reflect the green, red and white colours of the Basque flag. The ingredients display a swirl of fresh seasonal colour which remind the people of Basque of their regional roots and identity as Basque citizens.
Basque Piperade is said to be one of the most famous and celebrated dishes of the Basque country, so much so that a San-Franciscan restaurant specialising in rustic Basque cuisine has named itself after the dish. The restaurant’s adaptation of the Basque Piperade differs from the Basque country’s versions in the way that it uses French Ventrèche bacon instead of other meats.
Piperade - San Francisco
Despite the adaptations and differentiations of this classic dish, Basque Piperade remains one of the most important dishes of the Basque country. It has even been labelled so by the Larousse Gastronomique, a French encyclopaedia of French cuisine dating back to the 1930s.
No comments:
Post a Comment