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The holidays are just around the corner and that means a lot of us are thinking about menu planning. 

What to serve all the people coming over for Thanksgiving? What to bring to your holiday potluck?

Or if you’re having a small gathering, what to make that’s different enough from everyday cooking but doesn’t take too much effort?

One year for Thanksgiving, we had a goat leg at the dinner table instead of turkey. We have a small immediate family, and no one was volunteering to cook a turkey for just 5 people.

So Aita thought the holiday would be a great opportunity to serve up that goat leg his friend had just given him.

Yes, my dad has friends that just bring him animal parts — the perks of knowing ranchers.

In the spirit of the holidays, Mom cooked the goat.

Let’s just say that was the first and last time we had goat for Thanksgiving.

While I wouldn’t recommend the goat per se, I’m all about mixing up the traditional American Thanksgiving menu with your own cultural dishes.

So if you want to work a few Basque items into your meal this Thanksgiving, I’ve put together a list of recipes to give you some ideas.

Some of them are classics of Basque gastronomy, some are Basque American staples, while others are dishes common in the Basque Country that may not necessarily be of Basque origin.

Have a browse and see if anything inspires you.

[Note: Some of these recipes use metric weights, convert to imperial here.
Also, I can’t vouch for how authentic these recipes are, so I’ll leave that for you to judge.]

 

Soups and Small Plates

• Porrusalda – Leek and Potato Soup
• Porrusalda Vasca – Bacalao (Cod) and Potato Soup
• Moscor Salda – Drunkard’s Soup
• Marmitako – Fish Soup
• Fried Gernika Peppers
• Piquillo Peppers Filled with Salt Cod
• Cod Croquetas – Cod Croquettes
• Croquetas de Jamón – Ham Croquettes
• Selection of Pintxos
• More Pintxos
• And Again, More Pintxos

 

Seafood

• Roasted Monkfish with Piperade
• Bacalao al pil pil – Cod in Sauce
• Bacalao a la vizcaina – Biscayan Cod
• Basque Cod
• Baby Squid in Ink Sauce
• Angulas: Sautéed Baby Eels ‘Bilbao’ Style

 

Meat

• Txuleton – Bone-In Rib Steak
• Wood-Roasted Rib-Eye of Beef with Piquillo Peppers
• Chicken Basquaise
• Poulet Basquaise – Basque Chicken
• Basque Chicken and Chorizo Sauté
• Pig’s Feet
• Basque Tongue and Sauce

 

Sides

• Mayie’s Beans from Woolgrowers, Bakersfield
• Piperade

 

Bread

• Sheepherder’s Bread

 

Desserts

• Gâteau Basque
• Gâteau Basque with Cherries
• Flan
• Bollos de bantequilla – Butter Buns
• La Viña San Sebastián Baked Cheesecake Recipe
• Apple Tart
• Walnut Pudding
• Arroz con leche – Rice Pudding

 

Drinks

• Kalimotxo
• Picon Punch

For more Basque recipes, check out Buber’s Basque Page or Euskal Kazeta.

 

Some of these recipes require specialty ingredients not common in American supermarkets like piquillo peppers, piment d’Espelette, and baby eels. For a list of these ingredients you can order on Amazon, click here.

Also, if you’re more of a fan of cookbooks than online recipes, check out our curated list of Basque cookbooks.

Hope you’re able to find something tempting on this list. Let us know in the comments what you end up making.

Happy cooking!

 

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