Tartine in the Basque Country

Tartine au Pays Basque with Piquillo and Piment d'Espelette

The Tartine au Pays Basque from Rue Traversette is a vegetarian spread made with 33 percent Piquillo peppers, along with eggplant, tomato, and onion. Piment d'Espelette provides a mild, fruity warmth rather than true heat. Smoky, sweet, Mediterranean.

Tartine au Pays Basque from Rue Traversette is a spread that celebrates peppers in two forms. The Piquillo takes the lead role at 33 percent, with red bell pepper, eggplant, tomato, and onion filling it out. Honey provides a rounded finish, and 0.04 percent Piment d'Espelette adds a warmth that you feel more than you taste.

Smoky sweet with gentle warmth

Deep red and dense, the Tartine au Pays Basque sits in the jar smelling of roasted peppers, sun, and a hint of smoke. The color alone is enough to whet your appetite.

The Piquillo is a small, pointed pepper that is roasted over a wood fire and then peeled by hand; it is precisely this roasting that you taste first. Next comes the sweetness of the onion, the eggplant provides body, and the tomato adds acidity. Smoky, fruity, velvety, and the heat remains so subtle that even sensitive tongues will be just fine with it.

At 0.04 percent, the Piment d'Espelette is little more than a signature. It doesn't burn, it just warms, and it brings that fruity, smoky tone for which the Basque Country is known. Anyone expecting genuine heat won't find it here, and that is intentional, as it would overpower the Piquillo, which is the actual star.

On bread, with fish, and with eggs

Among our vegetable spreads and creams, the Tartine au Pays Basque is the sunniest, and likely the most versatile for everyday use.

It works well on any kind of bread, preferably topped with a few green olives. It is perfect with fried fish and canned sardines, and spooned over scrambled eggs, it turns breakfast into a quick version of piperade. It also gives a tomato sauce instant depth and roasted flavor with just a single spoonful.

It contains honey, so it is vegetarian and not vegan.

Two sides of a border

The Basque Country extends across the Pyrenees, and this spread draws from both sides. The Piquillo originates from Navarre in the Spanish part, while the Piment d'Espelette comes from the village of Espelette in the French part, where it has been protected as an AOP since 2000.

Both are cooked far from there, in Saint-André-de-Sangonis in the Hérault. There, Stéphane Strobl has been running his cannery since 2015, where about ten people chop by hand and cook in kettles, without preservatives, colorings, or artificial flavors.

He started in 2005 in the neighboring village of Saint-Pons-de-Mauchiens, on the Rue de la Traversette, which gave his brand its name. Previously, he sold corks to the region's winemakers. In June 2026, he was honored by the Hérault Chamber of Trades and Crafts as an "entrepreneur responsable."

Room temperature brings out the roasted aroma

The roasted aroma unfolds much better at room temperature than straight from the cold. After opening, keep refrigerated and consume within a few days. Pairs well with a light red wine or a dry rosé. For those who want to travel further, you will find Brittany and Provence right next door in the Rue Traversette range.