Ingredients
Skewers
- 24pickled guindilla peppers, mild
- 12good salted anchovy fillets in oil
- 12manzanilla olives, pitted
To dress
- 3 tbspgood olive oil
- 1 tspof the guindilla pickling liquid
Equipment
- 12cocktail sticks
Directions
- Lift them from the jar and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Trim off the stalk of each one with scissors. Use salted anchovy fillets packed in oil, from a jar or tin rather than a tube.
- Lift them out carefully and let them drain on paper for a moment. Do not rinse them, since you would be washing off what you are paying for.
- Drain them and pat them dry as well. A wet skewer will not hold together neatly. Take a cocktail stick and push it through one guindilla near the top. Take an anchovy fillet and fold it into a loose concertina.
- Thread the folded anchovy on next, pushing the stick through all the folds. Thread on the second guindilla, folded in half if it is long. Finish with an olive pushed onto the end of the stick.
- Keep the whole skewer short enough to go into the mouth in one go. Lay the skewers on a small plate in a single layer.
- Whisk the olive oil with a teaspoon of the pepper pickling liquid. Spoon it over the skewers so they glisten. Do not add salt, since anchovy and olive have brought plenty.
- Serve them straight away with cold beer or txakoli. Assemble them at the last moment, since they weep and go limp if they stand.
Technique
- Guindillas here are the mild pickled green peppers, not the dried red chilli of the same name.
- Use good anchovies in oil, since with three ingredients there is nowhere to hide.
- It is built to be eaten in one bite, so keep the skewer short.
Substitutions
- Pepperoncini or mild pickled Greek peppers, if piparras are unavailable.
- Any small green olive in place of manzanilla.
Variations
- With a piece of pickled onion added.
- With boquerones in vinegar instead of salted anchovy.
- With a cube of tuna belly added to the stick.
History
Created in San Sebastián’s Bar Casa Vallés in the 1940s and named for Rita Hayworth’s film Gilda: green, salty and a little spicy.
Frequently asked questions
What is Gilda?
Gilda is a snack from Spain: skewer of green guindilla pepper, anchovy and olive, eaten in one bite. Created in San Sebastián’s Bar Casa Vallés in the 1940s and named for Rita Hayworth’s film Gilda: green, salty and a little spicy.
How long does Gilda take to make?
Gilda takes 15 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes 12 skewers. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Gilda?
Yes, within limits. Pepperoncini or mild pickled Greek peppers, if piparras are unavailable. Any small green olive in place of manzanilla.
What is the most important thing to get right in Gilda?
Lift them from the jar and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Trim off the stalk of each one with scissors. Use salted anchovy fillets packed in oil, from a jar or tin rather than a tube.
