It’s been a tough few months but it feels like we’re starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Which is why we’re thrilled to share the next recipe from our Beronia pairing series. It’s one we tried ourselves whilst in San Sebastian but is super easy to recreate at home. In fact, it requires zero cooking, can be made ahead of time and goes down a storm with guests (now they’re finally allowed round again!)
Beronia is, at its heart, a wine to be shared in good company. Whether that’s with your partner, housemate, or via a socially distanced picnic. As such you want suitably sociable food to pair with it. A pintxo is a small snack, typically eaten in bars, traditional in northern Spain and this one uses just a handful of ingredients. Easy to assemble, this pintxo boasts the perfect flavour combination of saltiness and acidity – effortlessly making us feel like we’re on holiday in our own back garden. Guindillas, a key component of the gilda, are thin green peppers, either flash-fried for instant snacking or, as in this recipe, conserved in vinegar. Don’t be put off – we picked up a jar in our local (admittedly pretty good) corner shop. If you can’t find these, any pickled green pepper would work equally well. Just make sure your wine is chilled and ready to go!
Beronia Rueda Verdejo: £8.99, Waitrose
For our wine pairing, we have a lively and aromatic white wine made from 100% Verdejo grapes. This rueda is beautifully dry and full flavoured, really managing to stand up to the anchovies with a touch of fennel and ripe stone fruit coming through. In short, this is summer in a glass – so we like to make sure there’s always one chilling in the fridge for when friends pop over.
Aside from our pintxo, you’ll find this white wine goes well with a variety of fish dishes – we love cooking ours whole on the BBQ during the summer months, however, it really is very versatile, try it with pasta, rice and cheese too.
The Gilda Pintxo
Prep time: 10 mins
Serves: 4
What you will need:
8 canned or jarred anchovy filets
8 to 16 large green olives,
8 guindilla (or other pickled green) peppers
Toothpicks or wooden skewers
First things first, make sure your Beronia Rueda Verdejo is chilling.
Curl up an anchovy filet and thread it on to a toothpick or a small wooden skewer, then add a guindilla and an olive onto opposite ends and drizzle with a high-quality olive oil.
Repeat the process until you have a beautiful display of shimmering olives, peppers and anchovies on skewers. Now is your time to get creative! We like to thread an anchovy on first, followed by the pepper, then wrap the anchovy around and finish with an olive. However, there really is no wrong or right way to make it – as long as your happy that’s all that matters!
Why not try this alongside the Jamon & Manchego Toasts we created to go with Beronia Crianza for a truly authentic Spanish feast.