Basque White Tuna/Bonito del Norte high quality.

Fresh Bonito del Norte just caught and sent to Conservas Dentici-Olasagasti. The 2015 white tuna season has started.

In Olasagasti we are purchasing fresh White Tuna the optimum size -between 9 and 11 kilos- caught by means of rods, 8 hours off the coast. The fish is usually unloaded at Getaria and Hondarribia harbours to be immediately processed -still fresh- in our premises.

Bonito del Norte Olasagasti/La Marquinesa.

We are always highlighting the importance to defend and differentiate the local fish. Identifying the fish is hard work, especially when huge amounts of them are unloaded within a short time. However, the Basque fishing associations consider the identification of the product vital so as to strengthen our activity.

The Basque Country White Tuna is a high quality species caught one by one by fishermen from our Basque float, using rods and bait instead of nets. This traditional method improves the quality of the fish, guarantees the sustainability of the Basque fishing grounds and also favours marine resources.

Olasagasti by Conservas Dentici has been committed to this initiative from the beginning. Matteo Orlando, the manager, is one of the promoters and President of the Asociación de Conserveros Artesanos Vascos (Association of Traditional Canners of the Basque Coast). He is in favour of using all the necessary means to keep the grounds alive, fishing responsibly and guaranteeing the origin of the fish as well as its traditional processing.

Olasagasti White Tuna-Bonito del Norte in jars.

Basque ships ready to catch Bonito del Norte

Preserved White Tuna-Bonito del Norte

La entrada The 2015 White Tuna Season has started aparece primero en Blog de Conservas Olasagasti.

… The typical pie from Galicia

Galicia is a lovely area on the north coast of Spain, next to Portugal. The interior of Galicia is characterized by its hilly landscape, although mountain ranges rise to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the east and south. The coastal areas are mostly an alternate series of rías (submerged valleys where the sea penetrates tens of kilometres inland) and cliffs. 

Ons Island by @ Galcian Tourisme

The climate of Galicia is temperate and rainy, but it is also markedly drier in the summer, being usually classified as Oceanic in the west and north, and Mediterranean in the southeast. In fact, when wathchig the weather forecast there is always a big grey cloud over Galicia. However, my friends who spend August in the rias say that it hardly rains in summer… I have to admit that whoever goes there is so thrilled that they want to go back. 

Extraordinary landscape from Galicia (S.Martiño beach-Cies Islands) by Galician Tourisme

The political capital is Santiago de Compostela, in the province of A Coruña. Santiago is one of the most popular cities in Europe due to “el Camino de Santiago”, one of the pilgrimage routes to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Galicilan landscape (by Pablo Guiroy)

Some friends at the end of their pilgrimage (by Víctor Fernández)

Lovely images from Pablo Guiroy in his pilgrimage.

Gastronomy is another appeal for tourists since you can taste a wide range of specialties from the Atlantic Sea. 

My favourites are the pulpo (octopus) and my dear empanada (pie) both prepared the Galician way.

Pulpo a la gallega

Empanada gallega

And this is my GALICIAN PIE RECIPE with Olasagasti White Tuna (Bonito del Norte): 

Ingredients for 6 people: 

For the dough: 

Wheat flour, 120 g 

Wholemeal spelt flour, 80 g 

Water, 80 cl 

1 table spoon of olive oil 

Yeast, 10 g 

A pinch of salt. 

For the filling: 

Bonito del Norte Olasagasti, 1 can. 

Fresh onion, 100 g 

Green pepper, 100 g 

Red pepper, 100 g 

Tomato sauce 100 g 

1 table spoon of olive oil 

Preparation: 

We mix the ingredients for the dough with our hands until they are “clean”. We make a ball with the dough and let it stand in a dry place for 1 hour. 

We fry the onions and peppers. We add the tomato sauce and let it cook slowly for 20 minutes. 

Once this is done, we pour the vegetables into a bowl and mix it with the tuna. 

We divide the dough into 2 sheets with one rolling pin. We place one sheet on a special cooking paper in the oven tray, spread our mixture. Then we place the second sheet on top and close the sides pressing with our fingers. Finally, we spread the yolk of an egg on top. 

We let it cook in the hot oven (180º) for half an hour. 

This marvelous dish is so tasty that everybody will ask for MORE.

Enjoy this pie: it is really easy to prepare. 

Bo proveito!

Marta_Olass

La entrada Galician pie. aparece primero en Blog de Conservas Olasagasti.

After testing containers from different brands I felt dissatisfied with the contents. We worked hard to combine quality, practicability, health and good price. Our Olasagasti “open and eat” specialties were born to attract demanding shoppers who are constantly looking for quality ready-cooked meals.

These ready-cooked traditional dishes are aimed at the worker who does not eat at home and takes his lunch box to the office; at the trekker who is sick and tired of sandwiches; at anyone who has to improvise a warm meal when coming back home late; or at those who live on their own, who do not know how to cook, or can´t afford to buy specialities from delicatessen shops on a daily basis; or at a parent who stays at home for lunch when the family is out and only wants to prepare a complete meal for supper.

In any of these cases what I demand is good quality, healthy and natural products which can be enjoyed there and then without making a mess in the kitchen.  Home-made recipes for just a few calories.

The Mediterranean diet is a must for these traditional dishes (vegetables, pulse, blue fish, olive oil, wine, herbs). Each individual format provides the suitable amount of energy and nutrients, and helps the consumer to control his diet.

So far, we have launched four traditional recipes:

Tuna fish fillet a la Toscana with white beans:

It is the most surprising one and typical from Toscana and other regions in Spain.

Following the recommendations of nutritionists who believe we should eat pulse 3 to 4 times a week, this dish provides beans and helps to have a balanced intake, avoiding an excessive consumption of animal proteins.

Tuna fish fillet a la Siciliana with dried tomato sauce:

In this dish the tomato sauce, which covers generously the tuna filet, is our protagonist. This sauce is prepared following a traditional Italian recipe and provides a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Tuna fish fillet with sauteed onion:

Typically basque dish, the combination of tuna with onion is a delicacy. It enhances the taste of the fish.

Anchovies a la Basque, fried with garlic and chilli:

This recipe is based on a recipe from the Cantabrian coast. Its main ingredient is the appreciated Cantabrian Anchovy, cooked with olive oil, one clove of garlic and chilly.

When preparing it this way the dish keeps its characteristic taste of freshly cooked anchovies. The high  omega-3 content found in one portion covers our daily needs. The EPA and DHA help our heart, our brain and eyesight to be in optimum conditions.

Pasta Marta recipe from OLASAGASTI on Vimeo.

Take care of your health and eat healthy food.

La entrada Olasagasti ready-cooked traditional dishes. aparece primero en Blog de Conservas Olasagasti.

Select your favourite vegetables

La entrada 8 are coming to dinner (at short notice) aparece primero en Blog de Conservas Olasagasti.

We are half way through autumn and the Bonito del Norte campaign is way back. Here on the Cantabrian coast the weather is exceptionally cold for us and the water temperature has lowered dramatically.

The impressive rough Cantabrian sea. Photo by Asier Larraza.

The Bonito del Norte, together with the Bluefin, is the most appreciated tuna in Spain and it is slowly invading more territories worldwide.

The quality of its flesh, its flavour and texture turn the White Tuna into an exquisite delicatessen. On the other hand, this species is sustainable thanks to our traditional fishing methods which respect our environment.

Between the months of June and September, the Bay of Biscay receives the migration of the White Tuna (and of the Bluefin Tuna) which comes to breed in our waters. That is the reason why it is so popular and we have got lots of recipes and ways to prepare it in the Basque Country.

Healthy (and gluten free) quality Mixed Salad for all the family.

Stew vegetables with Olasagasti tuna

Grilled white tuna.

Very popular Basque pintxo (tapa): white tuna, chilli, onion and anchovy

The best Bonito del Norte was canned by mid-October and we will soon commercialize it so as to store this delicacy for the whole year in our homes since it will keep all its organoleptic properties. Read more about it here.

The fishing is carried out following traditional methods: the fish is caught one by one in the Cantabrian Sea, always respecting the Quota set by the European Community.

Conservas Dentici-Olasagasti receive the catch from the nearby harbours and process it still fresh “en fresco”, by hand, in a totally artisan way.

The recent catch is unloaded at a Basque harbour

We process the fresh fish on the same day.

Qualified staff process the recent caught fish.

We belong to the Association of Traditional Canners of the Basque Coast. Our label praises the defense and promotion of a different authentic product: high quality Bay of Biscay Canned Tuna guaranteeing the origin of the fish and the manufacturing processes, 100% from the Basque Country. Amazing! And when you taste it, you do make the difference. See more about it.

Seal of Quality for the Basque Country White Tuna (Bonito del Norte)

The seal of quality was created to differentiate our White Tuna (which is caught selectively in our Cantabrian sea and processed following traditional methods) from other tunas from elsewhere and therefore processed after being frozen, sometimes in countries where labour cost is cheaper. Unfortunately, these other products have similar labels which may be misleading for some customers.

A range of our products in glass jars. (Al them are glutenfree)

Now that you know the meaning of our Seal of Quality, you can choose accordingly. It is a must to be well informed, especially when you are looking for quality: don´t let yourself be cheated.

 

La entrada Don´t be fooled! aparece primero en Blog de Conservas Olasagasti.

The moment has come to say goodbye to our Cantabrian Anchovies. This year the anchovy season is being longer and by now you are undoubtedly an expert after reading the three chapters from last spring.

The fruit and vegetable season is also following the same pattern, due to a slight change in our climate. Therefore, we can still enjoy the very last fresh peas and asparagus from some vegetable gardens together with the very first «real» tomatoes.

In the Cantabrian area the calendar hasn´t coincided with the corresponding weather but this fact has taken place in all the Mediterranean countries; Rainy spring! And these days several European countries are seing a heatwave.

Anyway, in this blog we like advising to consume products grown according to each season and these days we can also get peppers, cucumbers, beetroots, courgettes, carrots and so on. Tasty salads with some of these ingredients plus our white tuna (bonito del norte), anchovies, tuna and mackerel are a must.

Some friends are sharing their ideas with us on Twitter and we are thrilled and thankful. We love your recipes enhanced with our Olasagasti products, Congratulations!

Some anchovy recipes

As for fruit we are starting to see the first figs, plums, cherries, peaches, saturn peaches (my favourite…) and I am longing to see those huge apricots as I want to make my wonderful tarts. Would you like the recipe?

At last we can enjoy the first days on The beach, eating some chunks of melon and water melon from your tupperware.

Back to the sea, we are welcoming the bonito del norte season. The sailing boats are being prepared for this totally different style of fishing to catch the appreciated White tuna int the Cantabrian Sea. New stories, different dishes… Good luck!

Marta Olass

Basque ships for the white tuna season

La entrada Welcome to the white tuna season aparece primero en Blog de Conservas Olasagasti.