If you’re looking for a great snack to have with wine, then these savoury Spanish gilda pintxos skewers really deliver.
Pintxos originate from Spain’s Basque Country, and the classic gilda is made by threading green olives, anchovies and pickled guindilla peppers onto a skewer.
The gilda was first created in the 1940s at Bar Casa Vallés in San Sebastián. The story goes that a customer who was served olives, guindilla peppers and anchovies alongside his wine decided to skewer them to eat them in one bite. Just like that, an icon was born.
Soon customers at the bar gave these pintxos the name ‘gilda’ because the flavours ‘green, salty and a little spicy’ mirrored the bold ‘salty, spicy and luscious’ personality of Rita Hayworth’s character in the film.
The big and bright flavours of gildas pair really well with cocktails and dry whites, which is why you’ll often find them served in most bars throughout the Basque Country.
WINE PAIRINGS: There isn't a perfect Australian equivalent for Txakoli (the classic Basque choice for gildas), which is a crisp, dry, zesty white that's slightly sparkling. Instead, try a cool-climate Australian Verdehlo, a lean/minerally Riesling (like Clare Valley's Polish Hill River) or an unoaked Sauvignon Blanc, as these will capture that zesty, low-alcohol, refreshing character of the Basque wine.
15
minutes12
Stop your screen from snoozing (zzz)
Ingredients
24 24 pickled green olives (typically a Manzanilla olive), pitted
12 12 white anchovies
12 12 pickled guindilla peppers (piparra peppers)
Method
- To make each gilda, thread 1 olive onto a skewer.
- Wrap 1 anchovy around a guindilla pepper and thread onto the skewer.
- Finish by threading another olive onto the skewer. Serve.
Notes
- Because I love anchovies so much, I also like to use anchovy-stuffed olives for my gildas.
- Guindilla peppers are slender, mild, sweet-tangy Spanish chilli peppers, often pickled in vinegar. Also known as piparras, you can buy them in jars at specialty grocers.
- Make sure you use white anchovies for these pintxos. White anchovies (boquerones) are lightly salted and then pickled in vinegar, keeping them plump, pale and milder than brown anchovies. Their fresh, tangy flavour is great for tapas. Brown anchovies are better for pizzas and sauces as they are salt-cured for months, making them dark, intensely salty and savoury.
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