The Talo or Talau is a typical food from the Basque Country, Navarra (where it is eaten on Christmas Eve) and similar to the traditional corn tortilla of Mesoamerica, made from corn flour, water, and a little salt.
It is round and cooked on a hot metal plate, called “talo burni“.
It can be consumed alone or with various toppings, such as in this case with chistorra (a type of fresh, thin chorizo) and cheese.
After corn was introduced from America into Basque agriculture in 1520, talo was born; used as bread in Basque homes, its remnants were sometimes mixed with milk to form something similar to a soup, eaten later for dinner.
Nowadays, it is eaten with txistorra (chistorra) while drinking txakoli (a sparkling white wine).
Sometimes it is accompanied by milk and eaten with fried egg, fried bacon (in Basque xingar), or fried Bayonne ham, sheep cheese like Ossau-Iraty, chocolate, or honey.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups corn flour
- to taste salt
- 1 lb chistorra (or sausage)
- to taste cheese
Steps
Gradually add lukewarm water to the corn flour and salt until you reach a smooth but not overly hydrated dough.
Work the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes, covered.
Shape the dough into balls and stretch from the center outward to form a sort of thin flatbread to be toasted on both sides.
Grill or pan-cook the chistorra.
Stuff the talo with chistorra and cheese while still hot.
You can also use some Mexican corn tortillas for filling.
