Cooking from Basque: San Sebastián & Beyond — April 2026

April took us to northern Spain with Basque: Spanish Recipes from San Sebastián & Beyond by José Pizarro. Two firsts in one night: our first Basque menu, and our first meetup at Danu Social House.

Aubergine, Honey & Blue Cheese Omelette

Honey and blue cheese in an omelette sounds wrong on paper. It is the recipe test that had us counting down the days.

• 500 ml olive oil
• 300 g aubergines (eggplant), sliced
• 200 g waxy potatoes, sliced
• 8 free-range eggs
• 75 g blue cheese
• 2 to 4 tablespoons honey
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Classic Tortilla

Two of them turned up, and neither survived the evening.

• 3 medium potatoes (about 375 g), finely sliced
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 4 large free-range eggs
• 200 ml olive oil for the potato, plus 3 tablespoons for the tortilla
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

The flip is the scary part. The book talks you through it.

Spinach & Goat’s Cheese Croquetas

The recipe makes 32 to 34, which turned out to be exactly the right number for a room this size.

• 500 g baby leaf spinach
• 400 ml full-fat milk
• 100 ml strong vegetable stock
• 80 g butter
• 125 g plain flour
• 80 g goat’s cheese, crumbled
• Freshly grated nutmeg, sea salt, black pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten + 125 g dry breadcrumbs, for coating
• Olive oil, for deep-frying

Beef Cheeks in Red Wine Sauce

Somebody braised beef cheeks in a full bottle of Rioja and carried the pot to a potluck.

• 1 kg beef cheeks, cut into large chunks
• 1 bottle of Rioja
• 2 carrots, 1 onion, 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 bay leaf, a few sprigs of thyme
• 3 garlic cloves, 10 black peppercorns
• 200 ml fresh beef stock, olive oil, salt and pepper
• For the book’s cauliflower purée: 1 cauliflower, 500 ml whole milk, 50 g butter

From the night

Reading off the name cards: toasts with piquillo peppers and thyme, tomato soup with jamón and Manchego, grilled green and white asparagus, and a T-bone with anchovy. Our recipe test reels also covered porrusalda, the Basque leek and potato soup, and cuajada with honey and walnuts for dessert.

Thank you to Danu Social House for lending us the room.