Originally the talo was used as bread in the Basque farmhouses. Currently, it is a tradition to eat talo with chistorra with a glass of cider or txakoli in different events and popular festivities. However, outside of the Basque Country and Navarra this delice is not known.
This homemade recipe of talo is made of just three basic ingredients: corn flour, water and a bit of salt. It is round and is cooked in a warm grill pan. It can be eaten alone, although generally it is eaten like a wrap with a piece of chistorra. In recent times many other alternatives have also emerged such as talo with cheese, chocolate, bacon, chorizo or even a mix of two of them.
And, what is chistorra? It is a reddish sausage original from Navarra, a region in the North of Spain. Quite similar to the chorizo although thinner and longer, and also its fat content is much higher. It is made with fresh minced pork as well as garlic, salt and paprika.
Recipe note
Talo with Chistorra
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Bowl
- Grill pan
- Knife
Ingredients
- 250 grams cornflour for talos
- Water mild
- 200 grams chistorra
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat water in a saucepan or directly in the microwave.
- Put the cornmeal in a large bowl or directly on the counter. Make a hole in the center and add a pinch of salt.
- When the water is warm add it little by little to the flour in the hole that has been made before. Knead and continue adding water little by little until a compact and homogeneous dough is achieved. If too much water is added, add a few extra grams of cornflour to compensate.
- Make 4 balls of the same size and flatten them by hand until you get round and very thin talos.
- The talos are heated on both sides on a grill pan over high heat for a few minutes on both sides. When the talo is cooked on both sides and some parts begin to acquire a darker tone, we reserve them on a plate.
- Next, we cut the chistorra into 4 pieces and fry them to taste.
- Finally, we place each piece of chistorra inside each talo and serve at the moment.
Recommendations
In this recipe there is no a fixed amount of water. It will depend on the type and the quality of the flour to use. Just pour the liquid little by little until obtaining a compact and easy to knead dough.
The dough that is obtained to make talo only consists of flour and water, so it is very easy for it to crack. To help achieve a dough of great consistency hot water is used, as with cold water it is more difficult to get an homogeneous and consistent dough.
A trick to know that the dough is ready and that we have used the perfect amount of water and flour is to keep kneading until it is easy to work with and the dough detaches easily from the hands.
Each talo can be cut in half and thus double the number of servings. In the Basque Country this is called a talo txiki or small talo.
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Buen aporte. Me encanta esta receta, la he preparado en casa y ha triunfado.
A simple recipe with a huge tradition, as it is eaten during Basque festivals. Try it, you will love it!
As Teresa Barrenechea describes them in her book The Basque Table: Passionate Home Cooking from Spain’s Most Celebrated Cuisine, the talo is “similar to Mexican tortillas, but they are a little thicker and more forgiving to make”.
Great Basque traditional food recipe!
The authentic recipe. I have family in the Basque Country and when I am there I love eating it with a glass of cider.