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Laura Brehaut. “Bartenders there are so hospitable,” chef Alexandra Raij says. “And they’re so brilliant at their jobs. They have amazing memories; they’re taking orders and holding conversations, and they’re stirring gin and tonics just right. They have so much flair.”

One of the ways they exhibit their talent, she says, is by making pintxos. These bar snacks can be likened to the tapas served in the rest of Spain. They’re convivial, meant to be eaten while standing with a drink in hand.

Pintxos are designed to appeal to the eye. They can be simple: an open-faced ham sandwich or the iconic gilda – Manzanilla olives, pickled guindilla peppers and anchovy assembled on a toothpick.

They can also be more elaborate: savoury pastries filled with chorizo hash or scallops in their shells with jamón ibérico fat and soy-sherry-ginger vinaigrette (recipe follows).

“It’s in that offer that you experience the sense of generosity and goodwill,” Raij says.

“The Spanish have this party spirit; that idea of living in the streets and being out late and going from bar to bar. It’s so appealing to cultures that don’t have that,” she adds with a laugh.

Raij and her Basque husband, chef Eder Montero, have been running the New York City restaurantTxikito since 2007. They travel to the Spanish Basque Country at least once a year with their children.

In The Basque Book (Ten Speed Press, 2016), with Montero and Rebecca Flint Marx, Raij shares 114 recipes and offers an excellent picture of how people cook and eat in the Spanish Basque Country today.

Both privately, in the home – Basque basics, the kitchen garden, eggs, cod, soups and stews for all seasons, sweets and beverages – and publicly, in pintxos bars, txokos (closed gastronomic societies), restaurants (asadores and sagardotegis; cider houses), and at festivals (ferias).

If you’ve been to the Basque Country, you know firsthand that it’s a special place. It draws you in with its rich history, stunning landscape and distinct language (Euskara; an isolate with no known linguistic relatives). It has a vibrant culture, with cuisine at its heart.

“It’s their strong personal identity that is so reflected in the food, and the landscape is reflected in the food,” Raij says.

“If you can get someone to spend a little time with a few recipes, I think it changes you the way that every trip to the Basque Country changes somebody. They want to go back and they want to keep eating that way and having those experiences.”

She says that Basque food makes you a better cook. In its celebration of single ingredients and “harnessing of singular flavours,” it forces the cook to be engaged and respond to the product.

Ingredients often thought of as building blocks, like leeks, take centre stage in Basque dishes such as poached leeks in their own juices with chopped egg (puerros sencillos con aceite y huevo picado).

Meat and fish often take a supporting role, acting as a condiment or garnish for vegetables, beans and other legumes.

Ham in particular fills the role of salt and other seasonings in many Basque dishes such as Raij’s “green eggs and ham” with peas and red onion (huevos verdes) and artichokes with lima beans and Spanish ham (habitas con alcachofas y jamón).

“How can something be so interesting and captivating, and yet so minimalist? How can it be satisfying to cook in that vernacular? And it just is,” she says.

“It makes you remember what you like about food. To eat it in its natural state but without it being like you’re cutting and eating raw food. There’s a lot of cooking going on. It’s achieved with so much precision and just tiny brushstrokes.”

Take salt cod in pil pil sauce (bakalao al pil pil) for example. Raij’s recipe for the archetypal Basque dish calls for just three main ingredients.

The success of the dish lies in the cook’s technique – sauce making – as well as the quality of those few ingredients. This is a prime example of the simple elegance of Basque cuisine that has placed it on the culinary map.

San Sebastián (a.k.a. Donostia), a stunning city on the Bay of Biscay, is among the cities with the highest number of Michelin stars per capita in the world.

With three-star spots Akelarre, Arzak and Martín Berasategui, and two-star Mugaritz, which is in the mountains just outside of town, San Sebastián is a serious food destination.

“People eat very democratically so those places that became high end, they weren’t just catering to tourists,” Raij says.

“Initially a lot of them were traditional restaurants that were catering to Basque families who were seeking out things that were subtly different from the way that they ate at home.”

Adding that it’s primarily the equipment used and the setting (ingredients tend to be quite similar) that differentiates restaurants from home cooking; she offers two of her favourites as an example,Elkano and Etxebarri.

Both are asadores – restaurants that specialize in cooking meat and seafood over fire. “They’re all about the pure product, so they are invariably seasoned with nothing more than salt and grilled to perfection,” Raij writes.

A family restaurant in the fishing village of Getaria, Elkano is known for its whole fish – especially their wild turbot – grilled over charcoal.

Etxebarri, one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, is in the village of Axpe. Chef Victor Arguinzoniz cooks almost everything over a grill using different varieties of wood and natural charcoal. He grows much of the produce in his back garden.

“It’s part of their culture to put a priority on eating well and the communal. They’re natural foragers and fisherman; they’re really connected to the food system,” Raij says.

“Really, there’s no better time to explore Basque cooking because it’s where our priorities are now. (It’s very Basque) to use what’s around you to make something really exquisite.”

Recipes reprinted with permission from The Basque Book by Alexandra Raij with Eder Montero and Rebecca Flint Marx, copyright © 2016, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Photographs copyright © 2016 by Penny De Los Santos.

PRESSED SANDWICH OF JAMÓN IBÉRICO FAT
(El serranito de iruña)

4 tbsp (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
8 (2-inch-wide) slices jamón ibérico or serrano fat, shaved from stored jamón fat
4 (1/3-inch-thick) slices country or crustless Pullman bread

1. In a nonstick frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the oil over medium-low heat. While the oil heats, place 4 slices of the jamón fat on each of 2 slices of the bread and top with the remaining bread slices.
2. When the pan is hot, add the sandwiches and, using a large spatula, press down on the top of both sandwiches and sear them without moving them for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the sandwiches from the pan and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan.
3. When the oil is hot, return the sandwiches, browned side up, to the pan and sear the second side for 2 minutes, again pressing down on the sandwiches with a spatula.
4. Transfer the sandwiches to a cutting board, cut each sandwich into quarters, and wrap each quarter in waxed paper. Serve immediately.
makes 8 servings

SCALLOP IN ITS SHELL (OR SPOON)
with jamón ibérico fat and soy-sherry-ginger vinaigrette
(Vieria con soja, vinagre de jerez, velo de grasa ibérica, genjibre)

2 cups (500 ml) kosher salt
3 green onions, white and light green parts only, minced
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
¼ cup (50 ml) sherry vinegar
2 tsp (10 ml) light soy sauce
½ tsp (2 ml) toasted sesame oil
¼ tsp (1 ml) red pepper flakes
½ tsp (2 ml) sugar
12 scallop shells (ask your fishmonger) or ovenproof Chinese soupspoons
12 medium scallops, small outer muscle removed
24 very thin (1-inch square) slices jamón ibérico fat or Italian or Spanish lardo
½ cup (125 ml) microcilantro, or ½ bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the broiler or oven to 500°F. In a bowl, combine the salt with enough water (about ¾ cup) to create the texture of wet compacted sand.
2. To make the vinaigrette, in a bowl, stir together the green onions, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Depending on the acidity of your vinegar, you may want to add an additional pinch of sugar. If your soy sauce has made the vinaigrette too salty, stir in a little water, too.
3. Place 12 small mounds of wet salt (about 1½ teaspoons / 7.5 ml each) on a baking sheet and balance a scallop shell on top of each mound. (You may have to do this in batches.) Place a scallop in each shell and top with a slice of the jamón fat. Broil or bake until the scallops are warmed through and the fat is transparent, about 1 minute. Repeat as needed with the remaining scallops.
4. Remove from the broiler and top each scallop with about 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml) of the vinaigrette and some microcilantro. If serving the scallops in shells, apply more wet salt to a platter and balance the shells on top. If serving in spoons, forgo the salt and set the spoons directly on the platter. Serve immediately.
makes 6 servings

OPEN-FACE FRIED QUAIL EGG AND CHORIZO SANDWICH
(Arraultza)

5 oz (150 g) dry-cured spicy chorizo, at room temperature (see Note)
1 Spanish onion, brunoise (a very small dice; 3-mm / 1/8-inch or less)
¼ cup (50 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of kosher salt
6 (½-inch-thick) slices baguette, cut on the bias
¼ cup (50 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
6 quail eggs, at room temperature
Maldon salt, for finishing

1. Using a sharp knife, cut off the tips of the chorizo, then cut it in half at its U bend to create 2 logs. Carefully make a shallow incision along the length of each log and peel off the thin casing. Slice the chorizo crosswise into 1-inch-thick pieces. Cut each piece lengthwise into thin slices and then cut the slices into matchsticks. Alternatively, cut the chorizo logs crosswise into thin coins. Set aside.
2. Cook the onion very slow and low in a frying pan with the oil and salt for about 25 minutes, until very soft and sweet. Let cool to room temperature, then spread about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) onto each bread slice. Top the slow-cooked onion with a generous amount of the chorizo, then make a small well in the middle of each mound of chorizo.
3. In a very small frying pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the quail eggs one at a time, then reduce the heat and fry. Nestle a fried egg in each chorizo well. Sprinkle a little Maldon salt over each yolk and serve at room temperature.
makes 6 servings

Note: Make sure that the chorizo is at room temperature, as cold chorizo is waxy and not as tasty and will make your eggs cold.