Pintxos Variados
Spanish-style tapas featuring an assortment of topped bread slices with cured meats, seafood, and cheese. A showstopping appetizer that looks far more impressive than the minimal cooking required.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 285
- Protein
- 12g
Ingredients
- 1 baguette day-old crusty baguette
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic clove
- ½ cup roasted red pepper, jarred
- 3 ounces Spanish manchego cheese
- 2 ounces Spanish cured ham (jamón serrano)
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 8 fillets marinated white anchovy fillets
- ¼ cup pitted green olives, sliced
- ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup canned or jarred white beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cloves roasted garlic cloves (or 1 raw clove, minced)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch cracked black pepper
- 2 ounces Spanish morcilla or chorizo, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons roasted almonds, blanched and halved
- ½ teaspoon sherry vinegar
Instructions
- 1
Slice the day-old baguette on a slight diagonal into 0.5-inch-thick slices — cutting at an angle gives you more surface area for toppings. You should get about 16–18 slices.
- 2
Arrange the baguette slices on a large rimmed baking sheet in a single layer.
- 3
Drizzle 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil evenly over both sides of each bread slice. Toast the slices in a 400°F oven for 6–8 minutes, until they're golden and crisp at the edges but still slightly yielding in the center. The bread should smell toasty and fragrant — watch it carefully so it doesn't burn.
- 4
While the bread toasts, prepare your toppings: tear the roasted red pepper into bite-sized pieces; slice the manchego cheese into thin, 1-inch-wide pieces; tear the jamón serrano into irregular, rustic pieces; slice the morcilla into 0.25-inch-thick rounds; and have all other ingredients measured and ready.
- 5
Let the toasted bread cool for 1 minute on the baking sheet so it sets slightly, then transfer to a serving board or platter.
- 6
Cut the 1 raw garlic clove in half and gently rub the cut side over the warm bread slices — you want just a whisper of garlic flavor, not an overpowering one.
- 7
Make the white bean spread: mash the 0.5 cup of drained white beans with a fork until chunky but spreadable. Stir in the 2 roasted garlic cloves (or minced raw garlic), 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, a pinch of sea salt, a pinch of cracked black pepper, and 0.5 teaspoon of sherry vinegar. Spread a thin layer on 4–5 bread slices and top each with one or two roasted almonds.
- 8
Top 4–5 bread slices with a piece of manchego cheese, then a piece of roasted red pepper. Drizzle lightly with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a tiny pinch of smoked paprika.
- 9
Top 4–5 bread slices with jamón serrano torn into a rustic fold, then top each with one marinated white anchovy fillet. Finish with a slice of pitted green olive.
- 10
Top 4–5 remaining bread slices with thin rounds of morcilla or chorizo. Drizzle each with a tiny bit of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
- 11
Arrange all pintxos on a serving platter in a visually appealing pattern, grouping like flavors together. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm — pintxos are best enjoyed within 15 minutes of assembly so the bread stays crisp.
Tools you’ll need
- serrated bread knife
- large rimmed baking sheet
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- small bowl
- fork
- serving board or platter
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