Edibles & Potables: Marmitako, or “gehiago jan hegaluze gisatua”

(According to the interwebz, “gehiago jan hegaluze gisatua” is Basque for “eat more tuna stew.”)

Today’s choice of web sites merits an explanation. Going is the former Scott’s Cheap Flights, always an excellent source of information about air travel and creative ways to fly less expensively.

As for marmitako, it’s a dish I’ve head about but not tasted, perhaps because my visits to the Basque lands (in northeastern Spain and nearby areas in France) have always preceded the fishing season. For more about Basque cuisine, go here: The Ultimate Guide To Basque Food.

And now, a marmitako primer. Obviously we’re in no position to fish for fresh tuna of the precise variety preferred by Basque cooks, but I might try this with cod just for the fun of it.

Marmitako: The Fish Stew That’s a Summertime Symbol of Basque Country, by Marti Buckley (Going)

Humble potatoes in a red-tinted broth. Beautiful pieces of fresh tuna. Steaming with the scent of choricero pepper, stewed tomatoes, and onions, marmitako is pure comfort food. A dish that was born of necessity on the deck of a boat at sea slowly grew its land legs and is now one of the dishes par excellence of...Read more