Set up an authentic Basque ‘pintxos’ bar at home with these recipes

There are people for whom happiness is a bar overflowing with ‘pintxos‘ in Saint Sebastian. However – apart from San Sebastian, of course – not all of us have the fortune to stroll through the old part of the beautiful Basque city as much as we would like. To alleviate the mono, we have asked three of the most emblematic places in San Sebastián a trio of recipes infallible. The objective? Set up an authentic ‘pintxos’ bar in the kitchen of our house. Or well, a more or less reliable version.

Aitor Santamaria, one of the young figures in the Basque kitchen and son of the legendary Jesús Santamaría de Bokado, explains that what has evolved the most, compared to his father’s generation, “are the techniques used to make ‘pintxos'” . According to Santamaría, “years ago they were more basic and now they are seen on the menus that are typical of gastronomic restaurants but presented in a more informal and carefree way.”

Santamaría, at the head of Sukaldean Aitor Santamaría, considers that a ‘pintxo’ should be able to be eaten “in 2 or 3 bites” but, above all, it must have “flavor”. With your recipe we open fire.

Salmorejo with marinated ‘txitxarro’, from Sukaldean Aitor Santamaría (San Martín, 45, San Sebastián)

Ingredients (for 6 ‘pintxos’)

For the brine:

• 500g tomato

• two cloves of garlic

• 150g olive oil

• 20g vinegar

For the marinated ‘txitxarro’:

• A medium txitxarro

• 200 cl of cider

• 20 cl of vinegar

• extra virgin olive oil

For the mini pickled onion:

• 100 g of mini red onion

• 200 cl of sherry vinegar

• 200 cl of water

• 20g sugar

• 15g of salt

Elaboration

The first thing to do is the salmorejo. To do this, blend all the ingredients for 12 minutes until it is well emulsified. Strain and reserve cold.

Remove the loins from the ‘txitxarro’. Without removing the skin, put in contact with the vinegar for about 30 seconds. Make a cut in the tail on both backs and pull the skin off. Put the loins in cider for 50 minutes. Store in oil.

Peel and cut the onions in half. Take out all the layers. Vacuum pack together with the water, vinegar, sugar and salt and store for 24 hours.

To serve each ‘pintxo’, put 80 grams of salmorejo on the base of each plate. Cut the ‘txitxarro’ loin into 60-gram portions and place this cut piece on top of the salmorejo in the center of the plate. Place three pieces of onion around.

Salpicón de bonito from the north, from Hidalgo 56 (Paseo de Colón, 15, San Sebastián)

Chef Juan Mari Humada is in charge of this restaurant in the Gros neighborhood of San Sebastian. Humada was the first ‘pintxos’ chef to get a Michelin star in Spain. The ‘pintxo’ that he proposes to us is a seafood and creamy snack, very simple to prepare.

Ingredients (for 6 ‘pintxos’)

• 80 grams of marinated bonito from the north

• 60 grams of cooked prawns

• 60 grams of smoked salmon

• two boiled eggs

• 25 grams of mayonnaise

• 6 slices of tramezzino bread

• Sprouts to decorate

Elaboration

Chop the marinated bonito from the north, the prawns, the smoked salmon and the eggs. Mix all the ingredients together with the mayonnaise. Reserve. Toast the slices of ‘tramezzino’ bread and spread the mixture over them. Decorate with sprouts and, if we want, with an extra piece of pickled bonito from the north.

Iberian shoulder toast with spring ‘xixa’, from Ganbara (San Jerónimo, 21, San Sebastián)

Related news

An entire San Sebastian institution, founded in 1984 by José Martínez and Amaia Artizar, and with a second generation, personified in Nagore, Amaia and Julen, with which the legacy is assured. They consider that the culture of the ‘pintxo’ from Donostia is “everyone’s heritage”.

Ingredients (for 6 ‘pintxos’)

• 300 grams of spring ‘xixas’ (mushrooms)

• 12 slices of Iberian shoulder

• 6 slices of loaf bread

• extra virgin olive oil

• Salt

Wash the ‘xixas’ well. Peel and slice them. Reserve. Cut six slices of bread not too thick. On each slice, arrange two slices of Iberian shoulder. Cover the slices with the laminated ‘xixa’. Dress with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a little salt.