Soups and Salads

• Fresh green salads, a staple of Basque cuisine, are sometimes enhanced with hard-boiled eggs, asparagus, anchovies or onions. Vegetable or bean soups are just as commonplace. Basque soups frequently contain either freshly shelled beans or any type of dried beans, frequently with a spicy tomato broth or with homemade salsa. Chorizo sausage or fish turn these first-course soups into a complete meal.

Fish of All Kinds

• Fish is a staple of Basque cuisine, a remnant of their history as seafaring people who famously fished for cod as far away as Newfoundland. Dishes with salt cod are still a staple of Basque cuisine, served in creamy sauces or stewed with peppers and onions. Any fish, such as hake or eels, may be served in a classic parsley broth.

Meat and Poultry

• Lamb stew, beef heart served in a spicy tomato sauce or chicken served with spicy Spanish sausage are just some of the classic Basque dishes with meat and poultry. Meat dishes frequently feature red and green bell peppers, spicy chile peppers and the distinctive Basque smoked paprika. Bits of Basque ham are also frequently added to meat and chicken dishes to add additional depths of flavor.

Desserts With Fruits and Chocolate

• Fresh fruit, a feature in many Basque desserts, is sometimes simmered in compotes or baked into cakes and tarts, often with nuts such as almond or walnuts. The classic gateau Basque is actually a pastry tart containing cherries, sometimes marinated with brandy and surrounded by pastry cream. The Basque city of Bayonne is famous for its chocolate, and chocolate cake is a classic dessert served at Basque restaurants.