Tapas Talk: Banderillas With Pickles
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One of the most beautiful things about Spanish cuisine is its simplicity. Each ingredient plays a starring role — bread, tomatoes, cured ham, olives, potatoes and so much more. That's why we love Spanish Made Simple. It takes the already pared-down cuisine and spins it into something you'll be delighted to make at home. Learn how to make these banderillas with pickles and get ready for a salty-tangy happy hour nosh that requires no cooking.
Pickled banderillas – customized skewers with your favorite pickles – are another ubiquitous tapa in bars around Spain. We love all pickles; in our supermarkets you will find a wide range of brined vegetables from garlic to artichokes, and fish, from mussels to anchovies. The vinegar flavor tastes exciting in your mouth and it is the perfect match for a beer or two, as an aperitivo. In Spain you can find banderillas ready made, but we prefer to make them ourselves and choose the ingredients we fancy.
- White or salted anchovies
- Green Spanish queen olives
- Green chili peppers in brine (preferably hot Spanish green)
- Pickled silver (pearl or baby) onions
- Gherkins
- extra virgin olive oil
- 7-inch wooden skewers or strong cocktail sticks (toothpicks)
- Roll an anchovy around an olive and poke a skewer through the middle, getting both sides of the fish and making sure they are well stacked.
- Next, introduce a chilli pepper. Because they are normally quite long, I recommend you cut it in half or fold it over. Follow this with a baby onion and lastly, introduce the gherkin. This ingredient should not be missing in any combination; it is the main pickle of the banderilla. Prick the gherkin horizontally. Of course, you can change the order of the ingredients, as you like.
- Repeat to make all the skewers you require. Pour over a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve.