About the Basque Country

The fishing fleet processed, although a large part of the labor of the "arrantzales" (fishermen) ends up on the grills and in the kitchens of some of the top restaurants in the Basque Country.

Grill houses line the streets but, in fact, the local speciality is the mouth-watering combination of freshly caught chipirones (baby squids) and onions, a dish known as "chipirones pelayo". The recipe has spread throughout the Basque Country, and is considered one of the true masterpieces of our cuisine. Needless to say, it should be accompanied by a glass of "Txakoli" wine, also from the town of Getaria.

Stuffed baby squids in ink sauce

Ingredients (3 servings):

24 small baby squid (best caught on a hook), 3 large onions, 2 small tomatoes, 1 green pepper, 4 cloves garlic, 2 sprigs parsley, oil and salt.

For the filling:

squid fins and arms, 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, a bit of chopped parsley, oil and salt.

Separate the head and the arms from the body. Remove the pen and the outer and inner membrane. Wash thoroughly. Cut the fins off and chop them up. The innards will come out when removing the head and arms. Very carefully remove the ink sac before discarding the innards. Dissolve the ink sac in a glass of water. Remove and discard the mouth and eyes and wash the squid again. Chop up the arms and add them to the diced fins.

Follow the same procedure for each squid. Dice the onion, garlic and parsley. Add them to the chopped up squid fins and arms and sauté the mixture in a bit of oil. Let cool. Use this mixture to fill the baby squid bodies, being careful not to stuff them too full as they will shrink while cooking. Fasten the end of each squid with a toothpick to keep the filling from falling out.

Put an earthenware casserole and with the burner on low slowly sauté the garlic, tomatoes, green pepper and parsley in the oil. After a while turn up the heat and add the baby squid. Let them cook for a few minutes until they brown a little. Add the dissolved ink, season and lower the heat to a simmer.

When the squid are tender (but not overly soft), remove them from the vegetable mixture. Press the mixture through a food mill. This dish can be accompanied by white rice or croutons.