Sunday we spent the day in the quaint town of Espelette. It is in the heart of French Basque country, about one hour from Pau. We went with another Canadian family living in Pau to take part in the annual Pepper festival. Espelette is an agricultural town with peppers, or piments, being their most famed product. They were introduced to the area about 500 years ago from South America. The Espelette peppers have AOC (appellation d’origine controlee) status, ensuring their autonomy and protection.
During the weeks leading up to the festival, the peppers are hung out to dry on the village houses. It is quite a nice sight, as the red peppers and red shutters contrast the stark white houses typical of those in Basque villages.
During the festival, visitors from all the surrounding towns bombard the tiny streets of Espelette. We had to park 1.5 Km from the town itself and walk in. We strolled the streets for several hours and took in all the sites: music, sheep’s cheese vendors, roasting chestnuts, various food vendors, jeu de paume (a Basque sport), and many, many peppers. The peppers are not particularly hot, and have a sweet aspect to them, which makes them compatible with certain desserts. For example, we purchased a cerise noir (black cherry) and piment alcoholic drink to be enjoyed as an aperitif. It is sweet, yet has a lingering warm sensation once the liquid has been swallowed. We sampled chocolate containing piment, and purchased piment jelly to be served with the famous sheep's cheese from the region. All very yummy treats!
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