simple pintxos and tapas

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the ninth in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. Some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients

- Cantabrian Anchovies in Olive Oil
- Guindilla Peppers
- Manzanilla Olives (Pitted)

Directions

A traditional pintxo mentioned on this blog previously, but popular enough to merit another post. Thought to be named for Rita Hayworth's character in the eponymous film, it's been found in pintxo bars throughout San Sebastián since 1946. A jar of anchovies will give you about 18 pieces.

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the seventh in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. Some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients

- Cantabrian Anchovies in Olive Oil
- fresh ricotta cheese
- Piment d'Espelette
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- bread

Directions

Another pintxo that simply calls for putting one ingredient atop another. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over each piece when you've finished constructing them and you'll be done. If you'd prefer to use a Spanish cheese, a mató cheese (if you can find or create one), is a good choice. Each jar of anchovies will give you about 18 fillets; one or two fillets per piece is entirely up to you.

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the sixth in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. Some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients

- Marinated Grilled Artichoke Halves
- Octopus in Olive Oil
- Piment d'Espelette
- bread

Directions

Drizzle a little olive oil over your pintxos once you've skewered the bread, artichoke, and octopus. Then sprinkle with piment d'Espelette and you're ready to serve. Each jar of artichokes will give you about 10 pieces.

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the fifth in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. Some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients 

- Bonito del Norte Tuna in Olive Oil
- Piquillo Peppers D.O. Lodosa
- Manzanilla Olives (Pitted)
- aioli
- bread

Directions

As with a previous pintxo, all the work here is aioli whisking-related. Once that's accomplished, it's just more of opening jars and putting one ingredient on top of another, with delicious, crowd-pleasing results. You should be able to get about a dozen pintxos from a jar of the Bonito, which is of course dependent on how much tuna you feel like awarding your guests. A naughty or nice joke could go here, something about the correlation between goodness over the course of the previous year and the resulting division and distribution of exquisite Bonito del Norte tuna amongst Christmas party guests. That joke will be withheld.

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the fourth in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. Some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients 

- Cantabrian Anchovy Fillets
- manchego cheese
- apricot jam
- bread

Directions

Here, the most work you'll have to do is probably slicing the cheese, but that's not difficult at all, particularly if you have one of those little cheese boards with the slicer built in. Job done. If you want to get wild, perhaps try lightly toasting the bread and melting the cheese. It's not what we did, but the theory that melted cheese makes things better has withstood the test of time. Each jar of anchovies will give you about 18 fillets.

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the third in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. Some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients

- Octopus in Olive Oil
- aioli
- chives
- bread

Directions

This pintxo takes a bit of whisking. For the aioli we used (directions for which can be found by clicking the link found at the beginning of this sentence), we kept it simple with just egg yolk, olive oil, garlic, and fresh lemon juice. As you whisk the aioli into being, perhaps you'll be inspired to add piment d'Espelette (or any number of other spices we do not sell). You should try it. At worst, if you're imagination runs amok, it will only add a few more minutes of whisking to return you to the right path.

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the second in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. Some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients

- Mussels in Escabeche (Pickled Sauce)
- fresh ricotta cheese
- bread

Directions

All you have to do for this pintxo is open a tin of mussels in escabeche, have some fresh ricotta cheese ready to be spread, and slice appropriately-sized slices of bread. Put the cheese on the bread, the mussels on the cheese, and you're ready to serve. If you want to use a cheese that maintains the Spanish origins of the pintxo, try using a mató cheese, an unsalted Catalan fresh cheese made from cows' or goats' milk. It's difficult to find, though, in the US, and fresh ricotta worked well, according to our tastes. You'll get about 12 pintxos from one tin of mussels.

Pintxos and eggnog? Why not. This is the first in our series of pintxos to be posted this holiday season. We'll share some simple combinations of ingredients you can put together in a very little amount of your time, so you can spend most of it partaking in the revelry of the season. 

Ingredients

- Sardines in Olive Oil
- cherry tomatoes
- chives
- bread

Directions

The roasting of the tomatoes will take a few minutes, but you can put everything else together while you wait for the oven to heat up. Which is nice. You can roast the tomatoes with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, for about 15-20 minutes, or until soft. Place them atop the sardines, which themselves sit atop a small slice of bread, and skewer with a toothpick or similar wooden spear. Sprinkle with some fresh chives and you're done. Each tin of sardines will be enough for about 6 servings, depending on how generous you are.

We recently put together a variety of pintxos. We photographed them, then ate them. Over the course of this holiday season we'll share what we put together, with Donostia Foods products and a few things from the grocery store, to perhaps provide a few new ideas for what to serve along with the eggnog. Check back here, on this very blog, all month for an abundance of food photographs and related words.

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Our attempt at a recipe by chef Seamus Mullen of Tertulia, seen here open-faced for your viewing pleasure. We toasted the bread because toast is delicious and makes everything better. You can also try chopping up the guindillas and the egg to make smaller, pintxo-sized bites for parties and general snacking, or just to mix in both with the tuna salad concoction, contrary to the directions below.

Bonito del Norte Tuna & Guindilla Peppers Sandwich

Total Time (preparation and cooking): 15-20 minutes

Servings: one significant sandwich, a couple medium-sized sandwiches, several tiny sandwiches 

Ingredients

• 1 can - Donostia Foods Bonito del Norte Tuna in Olive Oil (use more or less based if you want a heaping, deli-style sandwich or something more manageable, bite-wise)
• slices of your favorite bread (sourdough? rye? sure!)
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 1 tbsp diced shallots
• 1 tbsp Donostia Foods Lilliput Capers
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the oil from the jar of tuna will do superbly)
• Chopped manzanilla olives (however many you feel is appropriate)
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise (no need to whip up your own "aioli". Yes, we've done it, even suggested it, and sometimes it's fun, but it's just not necessary when you can just put a dollop in from a jar)
• Donostia Foods Guindilla Peppers, as many as you'd like based on how you're feeling today
• 2 eggs
• lemon zest
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Ideally, you've hardboiled your eggs already, but if you haven't, do that now why slicing and toasting the bread.

2. Combine the tuna and capers and olive oil and all the chopped and diced ingredients with the mayonnaise, except the eggs and guindilla peppers. Maybe add a little more mayonnaise.

3. Layer the tuna on the slices of bread.

4. Top the tuna with slices of the eggs and guindilla peppers in an appealing way.

5. Eat.

Another delicious pintxo without the prep. Just open a jar of marinated grilled artichokes, a jar of Cantabrian anchovies, and add a dash of piment d'Espelette, paprika, or other spice that in your best judgement would work pretty well. 

Total Time (preparation and cooking): 5 minutes (if that)

Ingredients

1 jar - Marinated Grilled Artichoke Halves
1 jar - Cantabrian Anchovies in Olive Oil
Dash of Piment d'Espelette, paprika, or another spice
 

Directions

1. Open the jars of artichokes and anchovies.
2. Add an anchovy to each artichoke half, and lay out in a nice, stylish way on a plate.
3. Sprinkle a dash of piment d'Espelette over your nice, stylish presentation and serve.

A flavorful dish that's an enjoyable combination of octopus in olive oil and fresh ingredients. Use as much are as little octopus as you'd like, and experiment with different spices if you want to add bit more... spice.

Total Time (preparation and cooking): 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
3 tins - Octopus in Olive Oil (use more or less based on your own judgement)
1 onion
1 red pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 plum tomatoes (peeled and seeded)
salt & pepper (and other spices, if you so desire)

Directions
1. Chop the onion and red pepper and throw them in a frying pan over low heat.
2. Add the octopus.
3. Add the dry white wine, the peeled and seeded tomatoes, and the tomato paste.
4. Cook all the the above for about 10 minutes; if too dry, add a small amount of water.