Nerua’s delicious txakinarto corn bread
More about:
At Nerua we work to recover products that are no longer in use. We try to prevent them from disappearing. This is the case of txakinarto corn. A variety that was brought from America and that in the Basque Country is grown in the area of Mungia, where one of the few remaining mills in our area and in the Txorierri valley is still active. By Josean Alija.
The production of txakinarto maize is local and quite small. It is a corn with very little bran compared to other hybrid corn varieties. Its flavour is absolutely incredible.
The peculiarity of this corn is that it is harvested when it is still fresh and dried in a refractory brick oven, a drying process that gives it a very pleasant flavour and aroma. In the year 2000, we decided to create a bread that would be just another dish on the menu. A bread that would be the protagonist and would tell us about who we are, what we do and what we believe in. And this could only be achieved by using the values of traditional bakery to recover them.
Bread is an important part of gastronomy: the ritual of sourdough, the selection of flours, the alchemy of proportions... The proposed formula defines a product with a golden colour, a crunchy texture and a compact interior. The preparation of a dough that has been left to rest for 48 hours ensures a perfect balance between the yeast and the aroma of the corn.
Corn in broths
Nerua bread is the result of an interpretation of culture: it speaks of the identity and evolution of a widely consumed product. A bread that, in appearance and texture, keeps our roots.
We also use txakinarto corn to make broths, a characteristic element of our cuisine. This gives us sweet, slightly milky, buttery, vanilla and toasted, nutty nuances that combine with foods such as seafood or white and fatty meats such as pork. One of these dishes is 'Pork belly, txoricero juice and corn', a crunchy, mellow meat stew in a sauce that is very much our own, the bizkaina.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
We have the best quality tourism content and we deliver it to your inbox every fortnight.
You'll love it
Industrial tourism in the Basque Country
The Basque Country has been one of the largest industrial concentrations in Europe. The strength, work, ingenuity and energy that were concentrated in the mining and industrial areas for more than a century have a unique value as testimony to a pure and epic past.
Waste collection on six beaches and rivers in the Basque Country
Coca-Cola’s Mares Circulares programme, together with Aquarium San Sebastian, is organising this event, which will mobilise volunteers and organisations to collect marine litter from beaches and rivers in the Basque Country, doubling their efforts in this edition with a total of 6 clean-ups.
The photographic museum of Bayonne and the golden eagles of Álava
The Didam photographic museum in Bayonne is hosting a photographic project dedicated to a pair of golden eagles in Álava by the young San Sebastian-born Martín Barandalla.
The imposing waterfalls of Álava that you cannot miss
Alava is pure nature and the best plan is to enjoy some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the territory and the Basque Country. These unique spots are at their most splendid after the recent rains.