Traditional Basque and British Pork Pies

There are several types of traditional Basque ham. This one, called Quintoa,

is marbled with fat and has a deep, strong, fruity flavor. Its distinct taste

and composition begins with a specific breed of pig: the Basque Country piebald, referring to the

animal's mottled skin. This pig breed is native to the Basque region,

where the livestock is raised on small farms in the valleys of the Pyrenees Mountains.

Unlike commercially farmed animals, the sows have small litters of six to nine piglets.

These grow roaming and grazing along the vast mountainsides, where 30 piglets wander on about

a hectare of land. As a result of this free range rearing, they grow more slowly and become heavier