THE TRAVELING ANCHOVY IN...
Basque Country
Basque gastronomy is not just food; it's a fundamental part of its culture and lifestyle. Its rich tradition and ability to innovate while preserving the essence of local flavors have made Basque cuisine one of the most recognized and admired in Spain.
Its proximity to the Cantabrian Sea profoundly influences this cuisine, making marmitako, its famous stew of northern bonito with potatoes, peppers, and onions, bacalao al pil-pil, merluza a la koskera, and kokotxas en Salsa Verde some of its most emblematic dishes.
But it's not just the sea that defines Basque gastronomy. Its vegetable gardens also stand out for offering high-quality products such as Ibarra chili peppers, Tolosa beans, and Gernika peppers.
However, if there's one thing representative of the Basque Country, it's its pintxos, a symbol of Basque gastronomic culture famous thanks to the "txikiteo" tradition, which involves visiting bars with friends, trying pintxos, and accompanying them with a glass of wine, txakoli, or cider.
One of the most iconic and recognizable pintxos is the gilda, a pintxo originally composed of olives, anchovies, and chili peppers, born in San Sebastian bars around 1940. And it is precisely the gilda that inspired our chef Javier Ruiz, who reinvents this traditional pintxo in this recipe with a surprising version that explodes on the palate: Olive spherification with anchovies, boquerones, and piparras.
THE TRAVELING ANCHOVY IN...
Basque Country
INGREDIENTS
To make this recipe you will need:
- Pujadó Solano anchovy gildas
- Pujadó Solano boquerón gildas
- Olive spherification
If you prefer to prepare the olive spherification at home, following Chef Ferrán Adriá's technique, you will also need:
- 500 g pitted olives
- 0.4 g xanthan gum
- 0.6 g gluconolactate or calcium chloride
- 3.8 g sodium alginate
- Mineral water
- 0.4 degree olive oil
- ½ cinnamon stick
- Lemon zest
- Star anise
PREPARATION
To prepare the olive spherifications, you can follow Albert Adriá's recipe steps:
- Chop the olives, remove the pits, and blend them with a mixer.
- Place the crushed olives on a cloth, close it tightly, and squeeze to drain the liquid. You will need about 200ml of liquid.
- Add the calcium gluconolactate to the liquid and whisk the mixture until fully dissolved.
- Add the xanthan gum and whisk the mixture again. Once whisked, cover the container and store it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- In a separate container, mix the water with the sodium alginate and whisk until fully dissolved. Strain the mixture, cover it, and store it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- The next day, place the oil, half a cinnamon stick, a piece of lemon zest, and chopped star anise in an airtight jar.
- Separately, pour the alginate base into a bowl. Use a 5ml spoon of olive liquid to make each sphere and pour it into the alginate base, letting it rest for 3 minutes.
- Remove the sphere from the mixture with a slotted spoon to drain it well, and pass it through a plate with water to wash it.
- Drain the spheres and add them to the jar with the oil until you are ready to use them.
To make the Olive spherification with anchovies, boquerones, and piparras:
- Cut the anchovies into pieces.
- Cut the boquerones into pieces.
- Cut the piparras into pieces.
- Place an olive spherification on an appetizer spoon and add a piece of anchovy, a piece of boquerón, and a piece of piparra.
- Drizzle the spoon with some of the liquid from the gilda preserve.
