The classic Gilda. A symbol of Basque gastronomy and its pintxos
Para 4 2.1 €/pers. 289 kcal/100g.
- 16 pitted Manzanilla olives
- 8 shortened kites
- 8 salted anchovies
- 8 skewers
- 10 ml of mild olive oil
- The first thing we do is cut off the ends of the piparras peppers to make good use of the central part. This central part, in turn, we will cut into two pieces.
- Now we'll remove the whiskers from the anchovies using kitchen tweezers. The fewer whiskers they have, the easier the bite will be and the better the overall experience will be, so it's best to be patient and do it carefully.
- Next, skewer the pintxos. Ideally, start with an olive, then a piece of piparra pepper, the anchovy, another piece of piparra pepper, and top it off with another olive. This will give you a balanced flavor and a presentation worthy of a good pintxo.
- Finally, using a kitchen brush, we cover our Gildas with a thin layer of good, mild olive oil to give them a spectacular touch of flavor.
Olive, anchovy, and piparra pepper: the Gilda needs very little for each ingredient to shine. The olive provides the meaty element, the anchovy concentrates salt and umami, and the piparra adds acidity and a mild spiciness. Skewered on a toothpick, they form one of the most recognizable pintxos in Basque cuisine.
The recipe is associated with Casa Vallés in San Sebastián, and Joaquín Aramburu "Txepetxa," a customer of the establishment, is credited with the idea of combining the ingredients, which were already served separately there, into a single skewer. The name came later as a reference to Gilda, the film starring Rita Hayworth.
Preparing it is easy, but a recipe with so few elements leaves little room to hide a mediocre ingredient. It's especially important to choose a clean, meaty anchovy, a thin, pleasant-to-bite piparra pepper, and a firm olive. Then all that remains is to assemble them in the correct order and serve them while they're still warm.
You can also find more recipes in our appetizers section.
Where was Gilda born and where does her name come from?
The most widely accepted story places the birth of the Gilda at Casa Vallés, in San Sebastián, in the late 1940s. The establishment served olives, pickled chili peppers, and anchovies separately, three common accompaniments to wine.
Joaquín Aramburu, known as "Txepetxa," is credited with the idea of threading the three ingredients onto a single toothpick. The combination ended up becoming a staple at the bar and was named Gilda, in reference to the 1946 film starring Rita Hayworth.
The traditional explanation plays on the characteristics attributed to both the character and the pintxo: green, salty, and spicy. Over time, many variations appeared, but the classic combination still relies on those three elements: olive, piparra pepper, and anchovy.
The Gilda is now part of a much broader pintxo culture. If you'd like to explore further, our collection of Basque recipes will feature other traditional dishes and preparations from the Basque Country.
The Gilda is one of the many specialties of Basque cuisine. If you'd like to prepare other classics at home, you could try cod in pil-pil sauce, bonito marmitako, piperrada, or leek and potato soup with cod.
How to prepare a Gilda
What makes a simple recipe truly shine is the quality of its ingredients. That's why we'll use pitted olives, even though they aren't the ones called for in the original recipe. Nowadays, we can find high-quality pitted olives, which weren't available back then, so we can take advantage of that.
As for the chili peppers, we'll use piparras, a typical Basque pepper that isn't very spicy and has a thin skin, making it easy to eat. For the anchovies, it's best if they're boneless and you've removed as much of the beard as possible. This will give you a spectacular Gilda. To prepare it properly, you'll need to use kitchen tongs.
There's just one last ingredient: a mild, high-quality olive oil. The better the oil, the better the final result will be, so keep that in mind. With that, we're all set to prepare our Gilda (including the pickled skewers, of course).
With that, our Gildas will be ready. This is a great option to serve as a starter or appetizer at a meal: pickles are always perfect for that.
