Chili pepper, anchovies, olives, cheese, and extra virgin olive oil are the ingredients—but do you know how to prepare a true Gilda from Jaén?
The community collective brand “Degusta Jaén Calidad”, which brings together agri-food products from the province of Jaén, has shared the recipe. Its balance of salty, acidic, and that spicy touch that awakens the palate has been its strength over the years—so much so that it has earned wide popularity, as great as the icon it’s named after: Gilda, the character played by Rita Hayworth in the 1946 film who, apparently, being “green, salty, and slightly spicy” (and with the secondary meaning of the words “little pervert, witty and spicy”) inspired the most famous of the Spanish pintxos or banderillas, now enjoying a moment of rediscovery.
Its origins, however, lead to Donostia/San Sebastián, at the bar Casa Vallés on Calle Reyes Católicos (still there today), where in 1942 Joaquín “Txepetxa” Aranburu first combined the three ingredients, creating one of the most famous and imitated snacks in Spanish gastronomy.
Here, then, is the interpretation of the Gilda made in Jaén.
You’ll need a moderately large green hot pepper, as it will be cut in half lengthwise; fresh goat cheese; a pickled anchovy; a pitted olive; extra virgin olive oil; and, of course, a skewer. Cut the pepper in half; if it’s too long, trim the ends. Cut the fresh cheese into cubes of a size suitable for skewering. If the anchovy is too large, you can fold it in half to make it more compact. Skewer one half of the green hot pepper, a cube of fresh cheese, and the pickled anchovy (folded if necessary); then add the other half of the pepper and, to finish, place the olive at the tip of the toothpick.
Just before serving, generously dress each Gilda with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil: a crucial step, as the oil will unify the flavors and give exceptional shine and creaminess.