Pintxos

Since we’ve been talking about travel bucket lists, I can’t help but reminisce about Spain, one of my favorite countries in the world. A few years ago, I returned with my entire family (with 17 month old Quincy in tow!) and traveled from north to south, enjoying pintxos, tapas, jamón, paella, and Spanish wine along the way. What are pintxos, you might ask? A pinxto, pronounced peen-cho and derived from the Spanish verb pinchar, is exactly how is sounds: a pinch of food that is pierced together by a toothpick. Hailing from the Basque region of Spain, the pintxo is essentially a smaller version of a tapa, however, they vary drastically depending on the town, restaurant or bar.

Karen and I decided to recreate some of our favorite combinations, making them a bit more bite sized than you might traditionally experience in Spain. Some of our favorite combinations are fresh marinated anchovies with quail eggs, stuffed Spanish olives with Guindilla peppers and jamón and aged Manchego with quince. Devine. Although you can come up with any combination you feel inspired to create, I recommend visiting a local Spanish store to source your ingredients. It makes a world of difference. And stay tuned next week, where we’ll be sharing some more Spanish recipes!

Pintxos

These small, Basque style bites are perfect to serve, along with wine, before a dinner party.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pound aged manchego cheese (cut into 1/2" squares)
• 1/4 pound jamón (cut into 1/4" strips)
• 1/2 pound membrillo (quince paste) (cut 1/4" squares)
• 1/2 cup pickled guindillas
• 1/2 cup stuffed Spanish peppers
• 1/4 pound dry aged chorizo (cut into 1/4" rounds)
• 1/2 pound hard Spanish sheep's milk cheese (cut into 1/4" squares)
• 1 dozen quail eggs (hard boiled)
• 4-6 ounces marinated Spanish white anchovies

INSTRUCTIONS

1. stack ingredients on top of each other and pierce together with a toothpick
2. chill until ready to serve

(images by HonestlyYUM)