Amonaren errezeta
A short in Basque text at level A2. The translation sits next to it: reading with a dictionary is still too early at this level, and without support it will not happen at all. Grandma's recipe book has moved from house to house for decades. On the first page there is the broth: a piece of meat…
Text
- Amonaren errezeta-liburua hamarkadetan daramate etxez etxe. Lehen orrialdean saldarena dago: haragi pixka bat, barazkiak eta ura bi orduz egosten dira su txikiarekin. «Salda lasai eta luze eginda ateratzen da onena», idatzi zuen amonak. Bigarren orrialdean dilisten platera dago: dilistak, ilarrak, tipula eta piper beltz pixka bat; dena landare olioarekin nahasten da eta ozpin tantak bat gehitzen zaio. Gozokientzat, berriz, orea astindu behar da, gurina urtu eta amaieran kanela pixka bat botatzen da gainean: «kanela ez zapaldu, ahoa besterik ez». Amonaren hitzak dira oraindik: «sukaldaritzan ez dago presarik, dena bere orduan». Platerak mahai gainean jartzen dira koilaratxo eta sopa koilarekin, mahai tresnak ezkerrealdean, ur pitxerra eskuinaldean. Nik gehien maite dudana, ordea, ez da errezetarik: amona beraren ahotsa, saldaren zain sukaldetik esaten duena «prest dago, mahaira!».Grandma's recipe book has moved from house to house for decades. On the first page there is the broth: a piece of meat, vegetables and water boil for two hours on a small fire. "The broth turns out best when it is cooked calmly and long," grandma wrote. On the second page there is a lentil dish: lentils, chickpeas, an onion and a little black pepper; everything is mixed with vegetable oil, and a drop of vinegar is added. For the sweet, though, dough is kneaded, butter is melted, and at the end a little cinnamon is sprinkled on top: "do not press the cinnamon — only for taste." Grandma's words are alive to this day: "in cooking there is no hurry, everything in its time." The dishes are set on the table with a teaspoon and a tablespoon, the cutlery on the left, the jug of water on the right. Most of all, though, I love not the recipes: grandma's very voice, which from the kitchen, while the broth waits, says "ready, to the table!"
Comprehension questions
The questions are asked in Russian on purpose: we test your understanding of the text, not your ability to read the question.
- How long does the broth boil according to the recipe?
- What goes into the lentil dish?
- What is sprinkled on top of the sweet?
- What did grandma say about cooking?
Frequently asked
What level do you need to read this text in Basque?
A2. That means: you know the letters and have a stock of everyday words — about two or three hundred.
How to read a text in an unfamiliar language usefully?
First all the way through without peeking at the translation — just to catch the familiar words. Then with the translation. Then all the way through again: the second pass brings noticeably more, and that feeling matters more than any rule.