[.ca] The Basque Kitchen: Tempting Food from the Pyrenees (ISBN 0067574610)

From Amazon.com:
Sometimes, when you are Basque, you speak English with a French accent. Sometimes, that accent will sound a little more Spanish than not, and yet you are still Basque. Such are the complications of one of the more peculiar pockets of humanity to be found. For the country occupied by the Basque people is in both France and Spain while remaining unique unto itself. The Basque language is like no other, and no one knows where it comes from. Even Basque DNA is different than the DNA of other Europeans. Food--the taking of meals--is central to the culture. In some places it's a little more French than Spanish; in other places in Basque country, just the opposite is likely to be true. Chef and restaurant owner Gerald Hirigoyen invites the reader into The Basque Kitchen. In page after delicious-looking page, Hirigoyen presents what he most loves about the cuisine. And rather than suggest that what he so loves remain frozen in a museum of cuisine, he embraces the foods and cooking techniques he has encountered in Paris and California. His Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks with Onion Marmalade honors his uncle's tuna and onion casserole. But instead of covering a tuna steak with onions and olive oil in a casserole and cooking a long time, Hirigoyen prepares an onion marmalade, then pan sears thick ahi steaks until they are hot and rare, and serves it all on a bed of lentils. He's saying that you have to be Basque to get there, but now that we have all arrived, we're somewhere else, yet connected. And what a marvelous connection. The vast majority of the foods to be encountered between the covers of The Basque Kitchen are simple in nature, yet complex in the flavors they deliver. Potato and chorizo tortilla, an omelet of onion, potato, chorizo, salt, pepper, and parsley, gains added radiance with a little piment d'Espelette, powdered small, dried red peppers with a distinct flavor. Steamed mussels are prepared with tomatoes, crusty bread cubes, white wine, parsley, and chives. It's a dish from St.-Jean-de-Luz, over which the author proposed to his wife. Gerald Hirigoyen brings to life the foods of his youth and family, as well as foods he has created from experience and whimsy. Refusing to be confined by tradition, Hirigoyen takes inspiration from Basque tradition and demonstrates the timelessness of the Basque kitchen. The benefits for one and all are right there, page after page after page. --Schuyler Ingle

delightful:
I'm a tough customer for cookbooks, but this one is a winner on many fronts for me. The recipes are exciting and different from the many other European regional cookbooks, the history is interesting, the photos are beautiful, and best of all for me, the recipes are nearly fool-proof. I delighted my friends one night recently with the lamb stew - fabulous - and my husband has made the haricots verts salad a staple in our home. The gateau basque and chocolate "rocks" are both unforgettably wonderful. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in adding some wonderful new flavors to their kitchen.

Travel companion:
I took the book to France with me. It enriched my enjoyment of "Veal Stew With Peppers" in Espelette, and the mayor of that town (and owner of the restaurant where we dined) was pleased (and proud) to see that I had his friend's book. If you buy cookbooks to explore (and not just to cook) you may like this. Its a great gift for anyone who is headed to the Basque country.

OK French-inspired California cuisine. Basque? Not much.:
So Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks with Onion Marmalade and Lentils is Basque? Because there's tuna in it and the Basque dish, Marmitako, is also based on tuna (bluefin tuna, by the way)? No. Mr. Hirigoyen's dish, which can be perfectly OK, is the typical French/Californian concoction with maybe a touch of Asian in it. Again: very fine, but Mr. Hirigoyen should avoid using the misleading word, "Basque", in the title. The Basque Country is about 85% on the Spanish side of the border, south of the Pyrenees and the Bidasoa river. While the "Spanish Basque" chefs have remained adamantly Basque, and have indeed "Basquified" to a large extent all of modern Spanish cookery, the "French Basque" chefs have let themselves, for many decades, become thoroughly "Frenchified", learning in French culinary schools and following the edicts of classic French cuisine. This becomes apparent in Mr. Hirigoyen's constant use of butter, not to mention many of his techniques. One of the top two chefs now working in Iparralde (i.e. the French part of the Basque Country), Christian Parra of L'Auberge de la Galupe in Urt (the other is Firmin Arrambide, of Les Pyrénées in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port), once told the French magazine Gault-Millau: "You know why the Spanish Basque chefs are better and more creative than we are? Because we all have a well-worn copy of Escoffier's cook next to our kitchen, and the Spanish Basques haven't even heard of Escoffier." Jokes aside, Parra and Arrambide are now the leaders because they have rejoined the overall Basque movement led by Juan Mari Arzak of Donostia (San Sebastián): a return to the Basque sources (and some important Spanish ones, like Jabugo ham and virgin olive oil) to start creating from them and not from Paris-inspired fashions, products and techniques. I have the impression that Mr. Hirigoyen left the Basque Country before this movement took off on the French side of the border, before French Basque chefs became Basque again. His ignorance of southern (Spanish) Basque recipes and culinary traditions, which represent a large majority of the Basque cooking heritage, is rather amazing, as other reviewers have pointed out. By the way, in case anyone's interested: I am a journalist, and occasionally a wine and food writer, based in Spain, but with extensive experience in France and the United States. So I think I know what I'm writing about in this case.

Exposes Us to Unknown Place and Its Cuisine:
Nestled between the two cusine powerhouses of France and Spain, the Basque are influenced by these two, yet retain and developed a food tangent of their own. Here, Chef Hirigoynen shares his passion for this region and its food. He takes liberties at times to add his own touches, which he has been serving up in his restaurants in San Francisco. He provides a complete two page listing of sources for the hard-to-find ingredients as well as a listing of restaurants, etc. if one tours the Pyrnees region. I've tried with delight the Sea Bream with Garlic Vinaigrette "A La Concha", Lamb Stew with Mixed Nut Pesto, and Quince and Goat Cheese Layer Cake with Candied Pine Nuts.

Beautfiul Book, Unusual Recipes, Needs an Editor:
This book is full of gorgeous pictures and inviting, unusual recipes. Most of the recipes are relatively simple, although some hard-to-find ingredients are used. Its a great book; it could have used some more careful editing. Some of the directions seem puzzling or incomplete. A good book for an experienced cook, but probably a poor choice for a novice.