The piperade, totem of the South-West

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The red of the tomato, the green of the pepper, the white of the onion… Naturally, the piperade summons the colors of the Basque flag.

However, its origins are more complex to trace.

This is the lot of many local specialties, simmered from generation to generation across France: regions, sometimes even villages, dispute the paternity.

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For the Basques, there is no doubt that the piperade was born in their country.

More specifically in the mountains of Soule, where shepherds have been cooking it for a long time, and, originally, in a much more rustic version, white piperade, where stale bread, softened with water, replaces tomatoes.

The people of Béarn do not hear it that way and point to the Gascon origin of the sweet pepper.

The dictionary of the French Academy seems to agree with them:

piper

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