We fell head-over-heels in love with pintxos
from our very first mouthful of cheese, seafood, and
peppers precariously placed on a toasted bit of
bread. San Sebastian delicacies, pintxos come in hundreds
of different varieties. Your imagination is the only limit!
Check out our trip to San Sebastián to see sheer volume of pintxos that exist in that tiny downtown!
And of course, please try the first of many pintxo recipes to come!
Caramelized Onion and Peppers Pintxos!
Course: AppetizersCuisine: Spanish, BasqueDifficulty: Patience RequiredServings
12
PintxosPrep time
10
minutesCooking time
40
minutesIngredients
2 red bell peppers
1 white onion
3 tbsp butter
salt
750g goat’s cheese
30g pistachios
1 pinch rosemary
Balsamic vinegar
1 long baguette
Directions
- Thinly slice bell peppers and onions
- Melt butter in a medium-high pan
- Stir in peppers and onions and sprinkle on some salt.
- Caramelization requires patience and is a 2-step process.
- First, we want to thoroughly cook and soften the onions and peppers.
- Keep a lid on and stir in regular intervals.
- Scrape and stir whenever you see any browning sugars sticking to the bottom of the pan. (Maillard Reaction)
- Cook with the lid on like this for around 20 minutes.
- Next, we want to let the moisture evaporate and get some good caramelization on the now super soft onions.
- For 10-15 minutes, cook without a lid, stirring and scraping regularly.
- Sprinkle in some rosemary.
- Add some more salt to taste and remove it from the pan.
- If you feel at any point that the bottom of the pan is blackened and burnt because you forgot to scrape regularly, remove everything in the pan, scrub it clean, and continue the process.
- Crush some pistachios and lightly toast them with the removing oils in the pan.
- Slice and lightly toast your bread.
- Cube your goat’s cheese
- Pile up a cube of goat’s cheese and the caramelized onions on the toasted bread.
- Drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar. Don’t overpower it.
- Top with crushed pistachios and your pintxos are ready to serve!
