Talos con Chistorra Recipe (Corn Tortillas with Sausage)

These talos con chistorra are a Navarran corn tortillas filled with cheese, sausage, or a variety of other fillings. Recreate this simple dish from northern Spain at home! Love food from the Basque country and the north of Spain?

Try these recipes for marmitako (Basque tuna stew) and gâteau basque.

Introduction

On my trip to Navarra in 2013, one of my most anticipated activities was a talos cooking class. But what are talos?

They're not a Spanish tortilla (which is like an omelet), but rather a Mexican tortilla, which is made from corn. It doesn't matter what you call them--they're delicious! After living in Spain for nearly five years, I was surprised to find out that the Mexican style tortillas, which are difficult to find in most of Spain, are a popular food in Navarra and Basque Country!

It's another example of how regional Spanish cooking can be.

Ingredients

Wondering what ingredients you need to whip up talos con chistorra? Grab these key ingredients, and you'll be ready to start!

• Corn Flour: This isn't cornmeal or cornstarch; you'll need to use finely ground corn flour.
• Water: Use hot water to bring the dough together.
• Salt: This adds flavor to the talos.
• Chistorra (Optional): Brown these Navarran sausages in a pan and stuff them inside the talos before serving. If you can't get chistorra, useanother kind of sausage instead.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Talos con Chistorra

If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.

• Pour the corn flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl and slowly add the hot water, mixing with your hands to create a mixture with a Playdough-like consistency. (image 1)
• Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it sit for an hour. Knead for 5 minutes or so until it's smooth. (image 2)
• Sprinkle the work surface with some corn flour. Roll some of the dough into a ball and place on the work surface. (image 3)
• Slap the dough until you have a round, thin disc, adding more flour as needed. (image 4)
• Slide the talo into a hot frying pan or electric griddle and cook on each side until it's browned and bubbly. (image 5)
• Enjoy the talos with chistorra (a Navarran sausage) or any other filling you'd like! (image 6)

Recipe FAQs

What are talos? Reminiscent of a Colombian arepa or a Mexican corn tortilla, talos are a historic dish found in Basque Country and Navarra.

It seems that it was difficult to grow grains like wheat and barley in this high mountainous region, so the people turned to corn. At one point, the talos became the people's substitute for bread, and a typical dish at the time was leftover talos mized with milk.

Our cooking instructor told us that this was a dish with humble origins; a poor man's food that now is popular at regional festivals and holiday meals. What is chistorra?

If you've never tried chistorra, I assure you this skinny sausage is a crowd pleaser. Made from a delicious blend of lean pork, pork fat, and pork belly, it is usually seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic. It is popular in most of Spain in the preparation of huevos rotos, and in Navarra was served often as a hot starter before the main dish.

Serve

Making the talos is pretty easy, and fortunately you can stuff them with whatever you want. In Navarra, the typical choice is chistorra, but you could also use pancetta, cheese, blood sausage, etc.

Supposedly children even eat them with chocolate!

Expert Tips

• I've found yellow corn flour in health food shops in Madrid. A finely ground corn meal should do the trick!
• Be sure to add the right amount of water to the dough. Too little and it will be too dry; too much, and it will be sticky. Go by the feel of the dough and not only by the amount of water.