Starter Basque
Gilda — Basque anchovy pintxos
Meat & fish
Editorially prepared
Gilda is a Basque skewer of green olive, anchovy and pickled piparra pepper. Salty, tangy and mildly hot, it is served briefly chilled with a little olive oil.
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Ingredients
4 servings · metric units
Allow one olive, one anchovy fillet and one pepper per skewer. A serving is two skewers. Allow more assembly time for larger batches; chilling time stays the same if the skewers are arranged in a single layer.
Substitutions
Substitute amounts are adjusted to your selected servings.
- Instead of pickled piparra peppers (Guindilla de Ibarra)mild green peppers pickled in vinegar
If piparras are unavailable, choose small, slender, mildly hot pickled peppers rather than large pieces of sweet pepper. Use one small pepper per skewer, or cut larger ones into bite-sized pieces. The flavour and firmness will differ slightly.
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Optional ingredients and substitutions
You’ll need
8 long cocktail sticks or pintxo skewers · sieve · small knife and chopping board · shallow lidded container large enough for a single layer of skewers · fridge · serving platter
Method
0/4 stepsDrain the ingredients
Drain the olives and piparra peppers. Gently lift the anchovy fillets from their oil and let the excess drip off. Trim the tough stalks from the peppers, leaving the peppers whole. Pat away any remaining drops of brine from the olives and peppers with kitchen paper.
Drain the ingredients Assemble the skewers
Thread an olive onto each skewer and slide it down, leaving room to hold the stick. Gently fold an anchovy fillet into a concertina or loose roll and thread it above the olive. Finish with a whole piparra, piercing it near the top, just below the trimmed stalk end. Do not compress the ingredients: the fillet should remain intact and the pepper should sit securely on the skewer. Arrange the finished skewers in a single layer in the container.
Assemble the skewers Chill briefly
Cover the container and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, starting when it goes into the fridge. Before serving, check that the ingredients feel chilled; if they still feel noticeably warm from room temperature, chill for a few more minutes.
20:00Chill briefly Drizzle with oil and serve
Just before serving, transfer the skewers to a platter. Drizzle evenly with 10 ml of extra virgin olive oil so the ingredients glisten lightly, then serve.
Drizzle with oil and serve
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Tips
- Do not rinse the anchovies or olives. Draining them thoroughly is enough to prevent liquid pooling beneath the skewers.
- Choose small piparras. A long pepper can be gently bent and pierced again nearer its tip so that it does not hang loosely.
- Do not add salt: the anchovies and olives give the skewers a distinctly salty flavour.
Storage
Keep the skewers in a sealed container in the fridge at 4°C or below and eat within 24 hours, unless the anchovy label specifies a shorter time after opening. Drizzle with olive oil just before serving. Do not freeze, as the olives and peppers will lose their firm texture.
Timing
Hands-on: 15 min · Cooking: 0 min · Resting: 20 min
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