The Gilda has gone mainstream. It’s been spotted on menus in New York City as an upgrade to the olives on a dirty martini. Whenever it’s on the menu, I order it, paying a pretty penny for garnish I could’ve made at home and brought in my purse (in a Ziploc bag, of course).
What is a Gilda?
The Gilda is a simple, three-ingredient tapa held together by a skewer. Assemble a skewer of olives, anchovies, and peppers and voilà. You just made a delicious salty snack that doubles as a stylish garnish. The Gilda claims to be the oldest pintxo (pronounced pincho) from the Basque region of Northern Spain. The Basque word “pintxo” means a tapa held together by a skewer.
Gildas belong on a glass of Spanish vermouth, sangria, or a dirty martini. You can impress your guests by offering them a Gilda on their cocktail as soon as they walk through your door.
But a Gilda doesn’t need to be paired with a drink to be enjoyed. Serve up Gildas on a platter with Jamón Serrano and Manchego cheese for a proper tapas party.
Three simple ingredients
While a Gilda may look elaborate, it may be the easiest tapa to assemble. Every Gilda has three parts: an anchovy, an olive, and a pickled pepper.
The traditional pepper to use is a pippara from the Basque Country. Piparras can be difficult to find, so you can use pepperocinis or any other pickled pepper.
While you don’t need to be precious about the pepper, the anchovies matter. A cheap Ortiz anchovy will fall apart on a skewer. You need to use high-quality anchovies. Fishwife or Patagonia Provisions are great options.
For the olives, I recommend Castelvetrano. These are the best olives for dirty martinis and other briny drinks. Get pitted olives to enjoy a Gilda with a drink without any hassle.
The traditional Gilda uses these three ingredients, but you can add your own flair by swapping anchovies for other tinned seafood like octopus or mussels. Maybe you even swap peppers for pickled cornichons. The skewer is your canvas.
Putting it all together
To assemble your Gildas, grab 4-inch bamboo skewers. Don’t substitute toothpicks for skewers. Toothpicks aren’t strong enough or long enough to hold together a Gilda.
Add an olive followed by a pepper and anchovy. Then, finish your Gilda with another olive.
One tin of high-quality anchovies will give you enough fish fillets for about 6-8 Gildas. If you want to increase the number of servings/Gildas, buy more packs of anchovies. You should have plenty of leftover olives and peppers to make more Gildas.
Spanish Gilda Skewer
Equipment
- 6 4-inch skewers
Ingredients
- 1 tin high-quality, oil-packed anchovies
- 1 jar pitted Castelvetrano olives about 12 olives
- 1 jar pickled hot peppers (preferably Pippara) about 6 peppers
Instructions
- Add an olive to the skewer.
- Fold a pepper in half crosswise and add it to the skewer, stabbing it in between the fold so it stays folded.
- Fold an anchovy in half crosswise and add it to the skewer in the same way as the pepper.
- Add another olive to bookend the skewer.
- Enjoy as is or add as a garnish to a cocktail.
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