The flavors of Amatxi: taste homemade Basque specialties!

Do you know the Taloa? It is a typical Basque pancake, made with corn flour and cooked in a pan. A traditional delight, a simple recipe to garnish with a savory or sweet garnish. Les Saveurs d'Amatxi is all about the delicacies of taloa, Basque croquettes but also healthy pizzas and tasty pasta, with 100% local, seasonal and entirely handmade products in Villefranque, near Bayonne. Distributed in delicatessens, in small and medium-sized stores in the Basque Country, as far as Toulouse and Bordeaux , this is the opportunity to discover at home or during the holidays, essential recipes from the Basque Country… Hmmm, little tour of horizon of these delights!

Photos of the article: © Les Saveurs d'Amatxi

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The Taloa Basque, a must-try!

Do you like pancakes, pancakes and fajitas? It is imperative to taste the Basque taloak (in the plural!). The origin and history of Taloa in the Basque Country is intimately linked… to chocolate! Indeed, these are two seeds (corn and cocoa) that the Basques brought back in the 16th and 17th centuries, from their travels in America. A cereal that loves water and the sun, which therefore quickly took its ease in the Basque Country. The taloa recipe is simple: corn flour and water. To make it lighter and more homogeneous, wheat flour is nowadays incorporated into it, which makes the dough more elastic and fluid, to make fine and airy taloas.

We often meet the taloak at the turn of a market, during traditional festivals, because it is a snack that we eat on the go. Prepared before your eyes, the hot taloa is rolled or folded into a triangle, embellished with lomo, sausage, belly or sheep's cheese and with a touch of Espelette pepper, of course! It can be enjoyed plain, a bit like bread and even seasoned with caramel, chocolate… as you wish.

  

Where to buy Basque taloa? It is by noting that apart from popular festivals, it is difficult to find taloas, that the Saveurs d'Amatxi team decides to launch into the marketing of a taloa offered in the fresh section. Made with excellent raw materials and in the rules of the art, it is a healthy take-away meal, with quality flour and very tasty. The young and dynamic company, located in Villefranque, has no shortage of ideas to democratize and propagate Basque specialties, in a “ healthy ” and above all local version. For flour, for example, which is the basis of their preparations, they get their supplies from Ustaritz: Herriko wheat flour is produced from wheat grown in the Basque Country, ground in Basque flour mills. It is then mixed with Grand Roux corn and corn flour.

These artisanal taloa are a perfect snack, transformed into a real meal with a salad or a pan of vegetables. Garnished with chorizo and cow cheese, or belly with soft, fresh goat cheese, or even raw ham and sheep cheese, it's very, very appetizing!

Croquettes in the Basque Country

Croquettes from the Basque Country are very soft and gourmet preparations, produced in an artisanal way from a thick bechamel sprinkled with quality Basque ham, which is rolled in a crispy breadcrumbs and fried. Les Saveurs d'Amatxi offers croquettes in the frozen section. Why this choice? It is a fragile product, which, if it were marketed in the fresh section, would suffer from a very short use-by date... The company's food laboratory allows manufacturing that combines traditional know-how and modern technicality for deep freeze the kibbles (therefore without additives or preservatives), which thus retain all their taste properties, for the pleasure of consumers ! Sold in boxes of 25, just heat them in a pan with a little oil or with a deep fryer. They can be enjoyed as an aperitif like small tapas or as a main meal with vegetables, a salad… It's a healthy meal for children who love this easy and fun presentation, while offering a healthy and tasty alternative!

For the record, the croquettes are not of Spanish origin, as we sometimes guess wrongly. It was Duke Louis de Béchameil, who created this recipe by breaking down leftover béchamel into bite-size pieces breaded with egg and rusk. It is a recipe prized by our Belgian neighbors, also appreciated in the east of France.

   

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The Paxta salmon, the pizzas

Hmmmm, the memory of the delicious salmon pasta from our childhood… Les Saveurs d'Amatxi offers a 100% Basque variation, from artisanal pasta, cooked with care, enhanced with salmon… A perfect alternative to pasta boxes, for a quality lunch that is good for your health. To find in the fresh section, do not deprive yourself of it because even a simple pasta dish can be succulent, pretty and natural!

The artisanal pizzas offered by Les Saveurs d'Amatxi also benefit from their expertise in the processing of quality flour. The dough pieces grow at their own pace, are made and just precooked, garnished with a creamy sauce, melted cheese and Basque ham. They are offered in packaging in a protective atmosphere, to offer visually pleasing and appetizing packaging. It only remains to reheat them (in the oven, the microwave is not the friend of pizzas) and to taste when it is hot and the cheese is spinning… With friends or just for you, like you prefer!

Learn more and find the products

Les Saveurs d'Amatxi is a responsible company, which beyond working with local producers and noble raw materials, can boast of participating in the employment of young people. The team of 7 to 8 people is made up of young people in work-study programs and it relies on collaboration with workshops for people in professional reintegration for future recruitments. Each year, this energetic team launches operations in support of local associations, it is a global reflection that is undertaken to produce with values and a boost to the local economy.

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Where to find taloak, pizzas, croquettes and paxta? In small-scale distribution networks, such as delicatessens, small and medium-sized stores in the Basque Country, but also to Toulouse and Bordeaux. Look for the pretty white packaging with red lines, with the logo of the benevolent Amatxi (granny in Basque!). You now have all the cards in hand, to eat well, promote Basque flavors and encourage a virtuous business.

Did you like our report? Find others on the Basque Country Guide Blog. We also have a Facebook page of the Guide du Pays Basque and an Instagram account @guidedupaysbasque.

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