My Two Fave Spanish Recipes: Gilda-Deviled Eggs + Romesco Sauce
Plus, how to tapa-ify your brunch in 4 easy steps.
Grab those sunnies, gang—it’s brunch season! And, what better way to celebrate than with a full spread of tapas. When it comes to mid- or late-morning entertaining, my recipe for success is 50% homemade and 50% store-bought. When it comes to the cooking portion, whip up one or two make-ahead things and one thing that can be prepared day of (keep reading for my roadmap to a perfect Spanish brunch), plus throw together a killer sauce and then fill in with sliced meats, cheeses, tinned fish, and fresh, crunchy vegetables.
For the former, may I suggest these gilda-deviled eggs, which combine two of the best foodstuffs out there. Gildas are having a moment—on menus and in cocktails—and, I am so here for it. These Basque pinxtos are an umami powerhouse of bright, zippy piparra peppers, briny anchovies, and plump, green olives. Made mini on a toothpick, they make the perfect topping for deviled eggs flavored with lemon and a kiss of smoked paprika. (And, if you need a way to use up the hard-boiled eggs from your Easter egg hunt, this is it.)
And, since I’ve been in India, this newsletter is coming in hot with a second recipe for my all-time favorite Spanish sauce: Romesco. A vibrant, zingy combination of roasted red pepper, tomatoes, fried bread, and nuts punctuated by garlic, smoked paprika, and red wine vinegar, this sauce is so, so good. How good? I was recently at a party and someone remembered me bringing it to a potluck over the summer, but didn’t remember my name.
Gilda-Deviled Eggs
Whether it be brunch, picnicking, or a cheeky little tapas night, these deviled eggs are a must. Gildas are made up of three simple ingredients, anchovies—I like the ones from IASA, Ortiz, and Fishwife—green olives, and piparra peppers. The piparra pepper, also known as the guindilla chili, is a traditional Basque pepper, beloved for its piquant, vegetal flavor and pleasing, crunchy texture. If you can’t find piparra peppers, you can substitute in any mild, small pickled pepper.
Makes 12 deviled eggs
INGREDIENTS
6 large eggs
12 piparra peppers
6 tinned or jarred anchovy fillets
12 pitted green olives
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
¼ cup good-quality mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon Guntur Sannam chilli powder, Aleppo, or hot paprika (optional)
Salt, to taste
METHOD
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add 6 large eggs and cook for 10 minutes, keeping the water at a gentle boil. Remove the hard-boiled eggs with a slotted spoon and place the eggs in an ice bath for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the gildas. Cut 6 tinned or jarred anchovies in half cross-wise. To assemble, take a toothpick and skewer 1 piparra pepper (for bigger peppers, I find folding them in half works well), then roll one of the pieces of anchovy into a spiral and add it to the skewer, and finish with 1 pitted, green olive. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, so you have 12 gildas total. Place the gildas on a plate, drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Peel the eggs, cut in half, and gently remove the yolks, transferring the yolks to a bowl, and placing the halved whites on a serving plate. To make the filling, mash the yolks with a fork, then add ¼ cup good-quality mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika, and ¼ teaspoon Guntur Sannam chilli powder, Aleppo, or hot paprika, if using, and continuing to mash until smooth. Taste, and season with salt to taste (mayonnaise brands can vary in salt, so with deviled eggs, I always salt after mixing everything up).
To assemble the deviled eggs, transfer the filling to a zip-top bag, cut off the corner, and pipe into the egg white halves. Garnish each egg with a gilda and serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving.
Make-ahead: These can be made up to 1 day in advance. I usually keep the deviled eggs and the gildas separate and then assemble and garnish right before serving.
Tapa-ify your brunch in 4 easy steps.
Step 1: Eggs, two ways.
What is brunch without eggs? Prep a tortilla española an hour or two ahead (it’s best at room temperature, score!). Then, whip up a batch of gilda-deviled eggs, and you’re almost done with the cooking.
Step 2: Get saucy.
Every spread needs a sauce (or, two). My go-to choices are a quick, foolproof aioli that comes together in under 2 minutes with the help of an immersion blender and/or a bright, zippy romesco sauce (recipe below!). Both pair wonderfully with tinned fish—we’ll get there in a minute—crusty bread, and that tortilla española you whipped up. Or, you can also go with a smoky brava sauce.
Step 3: Go semi-homemade.
The key to less stressful brunch entertaining? Taking a helping hand from the store. Because I, for one, do not want to wake up at the crack of dawn to cook. Depending on the size of the party, I reach for thinly sliced jamon serrano, one or two Spanish cheeses, jarred olives, and a few tins of good-quality fish or seafood. Add in a couple bunches of radishes and some baguettes, and you’ve got a pretty damn impressive line-up.
Step 4: Line up the libations.
Spanish brunch loves all kinds of beverages—set up a mimosa station, whip up some sangria the day before, or just pop open a few bottles of cava or rosé. Or, if you’re looking for a non-alcoholic icy drink, I’ve been all about St. Agrestis Amaro Falso, topped with some soda water and an orange or lemon twist.
Romesco Sauce
This sauce is great slathered over bread, served with a Spanish tortilla, or vegetables, you name it. It’s also a great partner for succulent slices of flame-kissed steak, grilled fish, or roasted chicken.
Makes 1¼ cups
INGREDIENTS
1 large red bell pepper
12 cherry tomatoes
1 cup bread cubes (I like something rustic like a baguette or batard), lightly packed
¼ cup raw walnut halves, blanched almonds, or macadamia nuts
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt, plus more
1¼ teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 large or 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
Chili flakes, for finishing
METHOD
Roast 1 large red bell pepper, over a high flame on the stove until blackened on all sides. Place in a bowl and cover with a plate or wrap in plastic wrap to steam for 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can roast the pepper until the broiler.
While the pepper is cooling, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Place 12 cherry tomatoes, 1 cup bread cubes, and ¼ cup walnut halves on a sheet pan and toss with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt. Roast, tossing halfway through, until the bread is golden around the edges and the tomatoes are slumpy, 8 to 11 minutes. Turn off the oven, toss the roasted bread, nuts, and tomatoes with 1¼ teaspoons smoked paprika, and return to the warm oven for 2 minutes (this will bloom the paprika without burning it). Then, transfer the mixture, plus any juice that have accumulated into the jar of a blender.
Unwrap the roasted red bell pepper, remove the burned skin, stem and seeds, cut into a few big pieces and add the the blender along with 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, 1 large or 2 medium peeled garlic cloves, and the remaining 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¼ teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt. Blend on on low speed, increasing to high, until it reaches a medium-coarse texture. (If you like a smoother texture, you can continue to blend to a finer texture.) Taste, and adjust the vinegar and salt, as needed.
To serves, transfer to a shallow bowl, do and artful swoosh, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with chili flakes (I like the Calabrian ones from Boonville Barn Collective).
Make-ahead: This sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance without the garnish. Take the dip out 30 minutes before serving to take the chill off, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with chili flakes right before serving.