Las Gildas
La Hora del Vermut: The Weekend Prelude
A regular at a San Sebastián tavern slid a manzanilla olive, a pickled guindilla pepper, and a salted anchovy onto a single wooden toothpick. They named the invention after Rita Hayworth’s character in the 1946 film Gilda: green, salty, and a little spicy, where sharp vinegar cuts the buttery fat, anchored by the brute salt of the fish. There is no cooking here, which means there is nowhere to hide. Buy good ingredients, drain them ruthlessly so the acid doesn't ruin the fish, and pull the entire stack off the wood in one magnificent bite with a glass of sweet vermouth over ice.
Before you start
Gather twelve short wooden toothpicks or bamboo cocktail skewers.
Ingredients
- premium oil-packed anchovy fillets12 med
- pickled pepperoncini12 med
- unstuffed Manzanilla or Castelvetrano olives24 large
- extra virgin olive oil2 tbsp
Method
- 01
Dry the pickled ingredients completely.
The single biggest mistake is letting acidic vinegar drip onto the delicate anchovy; lay the olives and peppers on paper towels and pat them bone dry.
- 02
Build the architecture of the bite.
Pierce one olive to the base of a toothpick, followed by a piece of the pepper.
- 03
Fold and secure the anchovy.
Fold an anchovy fillet over itself into a tight 'S' or 'U' shape and pierce it through the middle so it sits snugly against the pepper.
- 04
Cap and finish the skewer.
Add another piece of pepper, top it with a second olive to lock everything in place, and arrange the finished Gildas on a serving plate.
- 05
Drizzle generously and serve immediately.
Right before the guests arrive, hit the skewers with a heavy pour of your best extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
The one-bite rule.
Do not nibble. The magic of the Gilda is the violent, beautiful crash of salt, acid, and fat hitting the palate all at once; pull it off the stick and chew.
The substitution game.
Authentic Basque piparras are ideal, but high-quality pepperoncini deliver the exact vinegary tang and mild heat necessary for the dish to succeed in an American kitchen.
From Cook Spanish in America.