A clay pot of marmitako with chunks of white tuna, potato and a brick-red pepper broth, beside a plate of gildas on skewers and a string of dried red peppers on a scrubbed wooden table

The Basque Country in the Pantry: Its Jars and How to Cook Them

September 30, 2026

The Basque Country faces the Bay of Biscay, and its pantry comes out of that water or out of the pepper fields behind it. Four foods carry it into jars and tins: salt-cured anchovies, bonito del norte, the pickled green guindillas of Ibarra and, across the French border, piment d'Espelette. A fifth, the dried choricero pepper, gives salsa vizcaína its color. On the French side, Bayonne ham cures in the Adour basin, and from next door in Navarre comes the piquillo pepper of Lodosa. The table below sets the seven side by side, and the three dishes at the end put them to work.

The seven, in one table

Jar	Where it comes from	What defines it	What it does in a dish	First dish to make
Salt-cured anchovies in oil	The Cantabrian Sea; salting houses along Spain's north coast	European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, caught in spring; matured in salt at least six months, filleted and packed in oil; never heat-treated, so kept cold at 5 to 12°C	Salt-cured fillets for skewers and toast	Gilda
Bonito del norte	Albacore caught in the Cantabrian Sea in summer	Thunnus alalunga; under Eusko Label, fish from 4 kilos, caught only by pole and live bait or by trolling at 4 to 6 knots. At the cannery: cooked in salt water, cleaned to the loin, packed in olive oil, sterilized	Cooked loin, ready to flake	Marmitako
Guindillas de Ibarra	The Atlantic side of the Basque Autonomous Community	Eusko Label: grown no higher than 450 meters, 5 to 12 cm long, yellowish green, packed in diluted wine vinegar at pH 3.3 to 3.6	Vinegar sourness, very mild heat	Gilda
Piment d'Espelette	Ten communes around Espelette, in the western French Basque Country	AOC in 2000, AOP in 2002; picked by hand from August to December 15, dried at least 15 days on racks or strings, finished in an oven; rated 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10	Fruity red warmth, as a finishing pepper	Over marmitako at the table
Choricero pepper	Basque kitchens; sun-dried	A dried red pepper whose flesh is scraped from the skin after soaking and two boils	The red base of salsa vizcaína	Salsa vizcaína
Jambon de Bayonne	The Adour basin, which takes in the French Basque Country	IGP: salted with salt from the Adour basin and dried there at least seven months	Delicate, lightly salted, melting when sliced thin	Sliced thin beside the gildas
Piquillo de Lodosa (a neighbor)	Around Lodosa, Navarre	Designation of Origin; picked by hand September to December, roasted over embers or open fire, peeled and seeded by hand, packed in its own juices	Sweet, slightly piquant flesh	Stuffed with bonito

Anchovies: the salting-house fillet

The anchovy of the Cantabrian Sea is the European anchovy, called anchoa, bocarte or boquerón depending on the Spanish region. Spring is the season: in the mild water the fish rise to the surface more often and come close to the coast to spawn. The cure is slow. The fish is packed in salt and matured for at least six months, then filleted and packed in oil, and the only ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt. Because the tin is never heated, the fillets are a semi-preserve and belong in the refrigerator, between 5 and 12°C. The guide to how Cantabrian anchovies are cured follows the fish through the salting houses, and the anchovies complete guide covers the other styles. Olasagasti blends anchovy with tuna into a spread for toast (shop Olasagasti Anchovy and Tuna Pâté).

Bonito del norte: the summer tuna

Bonito del norte is the local name for albacore, Thunnus alalunga, caught in the Cantabrian Sea in the summer months. The Basque Government's Eusko Label rules admit only albacore of 4 kilos and up, caught by two traditional methods: pole and live bait, or trolling, in which lines are towed behind the boat at 4 to 6 knots. At the cannery the fish is cooked in salt water and cleaned in four stages so that only the loin goes into the tin. Olive oil is added, and the tin is sealed and sterilized in an autoclave. Conservas Ortiz traces its founding to 1891 and to Bernardo Ortiz de Zárate of Ondarroa. The tinned tuna and ventresca guide explains the belly cut, ventresca, and how it differs from the loin. Espinaler packs the belly as bonito ventresca (shop Espinaler Bonito Ventresca).

Guindillas de Ibarra: the green pepper in vinegar

The guindilla of Ibarra, Ibarrako piparrak in Basque, is a long, thin green pepper, harvested between June and October and pickled. Its Eusko Label specification requires that it be grown on the Atlantic side of the Basque Autonomous Community, never above 450 meters. The pepper must measure 5 to 12 cm, be yellowish green with a slight shine, and be packed in a liquid based on diluted wine vinegar, with no more than 10 grams of salt per liter and a pH between 3.3 and 3.6. The pepper is mild, with very little heat. It is eaten as a pickle on its own or threaded onto a cocktail stick with other pickles as a banderilla.

Piment d'Espelette: the French side

North of the border, the pepper is red and dried. Its growers' syndicate dates the first traces of the pepper around Espelette to 1650. The variety is a local one, kept going by women growers who saved seed each year from the sturdiest, earliest plants. Planting runs from April 1 to July 15, and picking is by hand from August to December 15, once the peppers turn red. They rest at least 15 days on racks or strings, are stemmed, and are then dried in a moderate oven until crisp before grinding. The appellation covers ten communes in the western French Basque Country, and was recognized as an AOC in 2000 and an AOP in 2002. On the syndicate's scale of 1 to 10, its heat rates a 4. The dried chiles and chile flakes guide places it among the other flakes and powders. La Ferme Nahia sells it ground (shop La Ferme Nahia Espelette Pepper).

Choricero: the pepper behind the red sauce

The choricero is the dried red pepper behind the red sauce of bacalao a la vizcaína. The Basque Government's recipe calls for ten of them, seeded, washed, soaked in cold water and brought to a boil, then drained, covered with fresh cold water and boiled again. Only the flesh goes into the sauce, and the whole sauce is then passed through a fine sieve, never a blender. Pimentón, the ground dried pepper of other Spanish regions, is covered in the pimentón and smoked paprika guide, which explains the grades.

Bayonne ham: the cure on the French side

Jambon de Bayonne is the ham of the Adour basin, a zone its specification bounds by the Atlantic, the Pyrenees and the course of the Adour, and which takes in all of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the French Basque Country included. Its IGP specification defines it as a pork leg salted with salt from the salt works of the Adour basin and dried in that zone for at least seven months. It is a French ham with its own cure, distinct from the Spanish hams in the jamón ibérico guide. Its specification describes it cut in thin slices, melting in the mouth, delicate and lightly salted.

The neighbor: piquillo from Lodosa

The piquillo, "little beak" for its pointed tip, comes from around the town of Lodosa in Navarre and carries a Designation of Origin. The peppers are picked by hand between September and December, roasted over embers or an open fire, then peeled and seeded by hand and packed in their own juices. Espinaler packs whole Lodosa piquillos (shop Espinaler Lodosa Piquillo Peppers). A piquillo filled with flaked bonito bound in a little mayonnaise, then warmed in olive oil, makes a fast plate from two of the seven.

Three dishes from the jars

Gilda. Basque Tourism's instructions: a cocktail stick, olives, a salted anchovy and pickled Ibarra peppers, threaded alternately, with an olive last. The full method is in the gilda pintxos recipe. For a warmer version, add a pinch of Espelette to the oil the olives sit in, and set a few slices of Bayonne ham beside the plate.

Marmitako, from the pantry. The Basque Government's recipe: soften 2 chopped onions and 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil over low heat, add 2 green peppers, 2 red peppers and 2 choricero peppers, then 2 tomatoes, diced, and keep cooking gently. Add 1 kilo of diced potatoes, cover with water or tuna stock, bring to a boil, season and simmer until the potatoes are done. The original then adds half a kilo of tuna in seasoned cubes, covers the pot, turns off the heat and lets it sit ten minutes while the fish finishes cooking. For a pantry version, fold in three drained tins of bonito del norte at that point, in large flakes, and let the pot rest the same ten minutes. The tinned fish is already cooked and needs only to warm through. Finish each bowl with a pinch of Espelette. That puts three of the seven in one pot.

Salsa vizcaína. Soak four salt cod loins for about 24 hours, changing the water. Prepare ten choricero peppers as above. Soften three red onions slowly in olive oil, and as they begin to color add two cloves of garlic and a chopped leek, then three slices of stale bread, or a little flour, to bind. Add the pepper flesh, pass the sauce through a fine sieve, set the cod skin side up in it and warm it over low heat. The same sauce works under poached eggs or roasted piquillos.

Alalunga packs sea bass Bilbao style, with garlic and cayenne (shop Alalunga Sea Bass Bilbao Style), and the Alalunga cannery guide covers the maker.

The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver. Products ship nationwide from theambrosianpantry.com.