Gelatinous fish heads known as kokotxas are a key ingredient for this classic Basque dish. Kokotxas usually come from the flashy cheeks (lower part of chin) of hake or cod. The dish is sometimes served in a sauce consisting of white wine, garlic, flour, and olive oil.

A more traditional way of serving kokotxas is in salsa verde sauce, consisting of olive oil, flour, fish stock, garlic, and finely chopped parsley. The kokotxas are lightly fried in a clay casserole pot, then combined with the sauce. It's recommended to serve the dish with crusty bread on the side for mopping up the sauce.

Tigres (lit. tigers) is an authentic dish from Bilbao, its name derived from the fiery flavor of these stuffed mussels. In Galicia, the dish is known as mejillones rellenos. The dish is typically served as a tapa, consisting of mussels stuffed with a combination of onions and flour cooked in wine.

Tigres are then dipped in eggs, covered in breadcrumbs, and fried in hot oil. The mussels are often served with a spicy sauce based on anchovies and tomatoes. In Bilbao's tapa bars, one can often see people discarding the empty mussel shells on the floor, which seems to be standard practice and the most authentic way to consume these seafood delicacies.

Bacalao al pil-pil is a traditional dish originating from the Basque Country. It is prepared with only four ingredients: salt cod, olive oil, garlic, and chili peppers. The cod is cooked in olive oil (with garlic and chili peppers), releasing gelatin that is needed for the emulsification of the sauce later on.

Making pil-pil is a laborious process, taking anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, and the final result is a creamy sauce that is spooned over the cod before serving. It is recommended to garnish the dish with leftovers garlic and chili peppers, then serve it hot or warm.

Chipirones en su tinta is a traditional dish originating from the Basque country. The dish is made by searing and poaching whole baby squids until they become tender, served in a purée of sautéed vegetables, garlic, and white wine, all tinted with squid or cuttlefish ink.

The ink enhances the natural sea flavor of the squids, which are traditionally stuffed with a mixture of their own side fins and tentacles. It's recommended to prepare the dish a day in advance so that the squid takes on the flavors of the sauce and becomes more tender. 

Marmitako is an excellent representative of the Basque Country cuisine, a tuna stew made in a pot with various other ingredients such as potatoes, tomatoes, chili, and onions. The name of the dish is derived from the Basque word marmita, denoting a pot or a casserole.

When combined with the suffix –ko, it can be literally translated as from the pot. Originally, the stew was invented on fishing boats near the Spanish coast, and while tuna is the most authentic option, today there are numerous variations on the dish, depending on the type of fish used in the preparation of marmitako. 

Bacalao a la Vizcaina or Basque-style cod is a traditional dish that's also popular in many Spanish-speaking countries. The dish is made with salt cod fillets in Vizcaina sauce. The sauce consists of red onions, garlic, and choricero pepper purée, although some people also like to add tomatoes to the mix.

The fish is cooked, and the sauce is poured over the fillets. The dish is traditionally served warm.

Known as ''the caviar of Northern Spain,'' angulas are baby eels, a Spanish seafood delicacy that's typically consumed with oil and garlic. They're also one of Spain's most expensive foods, reaching prices of up to 1,000 euros per kilo, which is pretty strange for some people who claim they don't taste of much at all.

However, others praise angulas for their delicate, meaty texture. When alive, the baby eels are slimy and transparent, and when cooked, they turn opaque-white. The most traditional recipe for the preparation of these eels comes from Bilbao (Angulas a la Bilbaína), and it calls for frying hot peppers and garlic in olive oil, then adding the baby eels to the mix. 

Bocartes en cazuela is a traditional dish originating from the Basque Country. The dish is made with a combination of very fresh anchovies, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and red wine vinegar. The anchovies are rinsed, cleaned, sprinkled with salt and red pepper flakes, and then fried in olive oil with minced garlic.

The dish is prepared in a cazuela, a round clay pot. Once the anchovies are opaque in the center, red wine vinegar is poured over the fish, and the cazuela is rotated in circular motions so that the vinegar mixed with the olive oil and the fish. Once done, bocartes en cazuela is served immediately, while still hot.

Ajoarriero is a traditional dish originating from the Basque Country and Navarre. It consists of shredded salt cod that's combined with chopped ingredients such as tomatoes, garlic, onions, red and green peppers, hot peppers, and potatoes. In the past, the dish was cooked in a clay pot over a fire, and the preparation was a communal affair in which the amount of garlic depended on the number of diners.

In some regions, people added crab or beaten eggs to the dish. Nowadays, ajoarriero is traditionally served in an earthenware dish, and it's often garnished with parsley on top.