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Classic Gildas

By Nicole Konstantinakos

Published on September 3, 2024

Time

15 minutes

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Classic Gildas

Ingredients

24 (4-inch) Bamboo or Wooden skewers 24 pitted green Manzanilla olives 48 guindilla peppers, halved crosswise24 anchovy fillets 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Before You Begin

These skewers are assembled like those served at Bar Casa Vallés in San Sebastián, Spain, where this bar snack originated. You can find guindillas at some specialty markets or online or use another pepper such as pepperoncini.Use the plumpest, highest-quality anchovies you can find.

Instructions

  1. For each skewer, slide 1 olive onto skewer, piercing olive through center, perpendicular to pit hole. Slide 4 pepper halves crosswise onto skewer. Fold 1 anchovy in half and slide onto skewer. Arrange skewers on serving platter and drizzle with oil. Serve. (Gildas can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours before drizzling with oil; let sit at room temperature briefly before serving.)
Classic Gildas
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Kendra Smith.

Time

15 minutes

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

24 (4-inch) Bamboo or Wooden skewers
24 pitted green Manzanilla olives
48 guindilla peppers, halved crosswise
24 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients

24 (4-inch) Bamboo or Wooden skewers
24 pitted green Manzanilla olives
48 guindilla peppers, halved crosswise
24 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients

24 (4-inch) Bamboo or Wooden skewers
24 pitted green Manzanilla olives
48 guindilla peppers, halved crosswise
24 anchovy fillets
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Why This Recipe Works

For inspiration for a fast and endlessly customizable appetizer, consider the Gilda: a classic Basque bar snack (or “pintxo”) that originated at Bar Casa Vallés in Donostia-San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain, and has been striking the fancy of chefs, journalists, and inspired home cooks around the world. The pintxo—comprising Manzanilla olives, plump Cantabrian anchovies, and pickled guindilla peppers (also called piparras) artfully arranged on a small skewer and drizzled with olive oil—was inspired by a mysterious character named Gilda, played by Rita Hayworth, in the 1946 noir film of the same name. It's not hard to track down the ingredients to make your own classic Gildas at home, or you can use the concept as a jumping-off point to craft your own party-worthy mini-skewers using other combos of briny, tangy, and even smoky, crunchy, or meaty treats. Here we offer the classic Gilda formula, but you can improvise with your favorite skewer-able finds from the pickle aisle: pepperoncini or cherry peppers, firm morsels of tinned fish (such as sardines, octopus, or pickled mussels), dilly beans, pickled asparagus, cocktail onions, (warmed) cocktail franks, or marinated cheeses.

Before You Begin

These skewers are assembled like those served at Bar Casa Vallés in San Sebastián, Spain, where this bar snack originated. You can find guindillas at some specialty markets or online or use another pepper such as pepperoncini.Use the plumpest, highest-quality anchovies you can find.

Instructions

  1. For each skewer, slide 1 olive onto skewer, piercing olive through center, perpendicular to pit hole. Slide 4 pepper halves crosswise onto skewer. Fold 1 anchovy in half and slide onto skewer. Arrange skewers on serving platter and drizzle with oil. Serve. (Gildas can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours before drizzling with oil; let sit at room temperature briefly before serving.)

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