New Orleans has gumbo, Cincinnati has chili. Cities are often known for one great bite, an essential bite that while in town you must try.  Well, for San Sebastián (and Basque Country), that bite has got to be the Gilda.

It’s a pintxo, or tapa, found in nearly every bar.  In and of itself, it’s super simple: nothing more than peppers, anchovies and olive.   However, its simplicity is deceiving, concealing a melding of flavors that is the perfect combo of salty, acidic, and umami.

Enjoy this recipe for a taste of Basque cooking, and remember, top quality ingredients are a must!

The Gilda

6 cured anchovies
6 canned olives, pitted
6 pickled guindilla peppers
toothpick

Take a toothpick. Insert one olive.  Bend the anchovy until both ends touch and insert the pick in the middle. Repeate with the chili. Put all of them on a plate and pour a little olive oil over. Enjoy.

Our IV Sammic Scholars for BasqueStage recently took their tour of the European manufacturer’s factory, where they make all of their machines (from mixers to blenders to dishwashers) from zero.  Clifton and Susy were lead through the whole process, from start to finish, and saw everything from metal forging to forklifts.

Sammic is one of Europe’s leading designers and manufacturers of foodservice equipment, specializing in food preparation, food preservation and Hot Temp Ware Washing. Long time technological partner of Chef Martín Berasategui and based only 30 Km. away from his restaurant, this 50 year old company has just started operations in the US. They sponsor two BasqueStage scholarships, Rising Stars and Top Chef.

Check out Susy’s post on the tour here.

We are currently accepting applications for our II Rising Stars Sammic Scholarship. The winner will receive a paid 3-month stage in Xarma restaurant of San Sebastián.

Xarma is a restaurant specializing in modern, product-driven Basque cuisine, created under the young chefs Xabier Díez and Aizpea Oihaneder. Located in San Sebastián, Xarma (pronounced SHAR-ma) was founded in 2008 by the two chefs, who met while cooking at Arzak.

Their cuisine is fresh, dynamic, natural and based on seasonal product. Using the market as their guide, they feature an everchanging menu for their 35-seat restaurant that embraces experimentation. They offer plates that taste both new and familiar, such as their truffled yogurt, served in the traditional yogurt glass, with an Idiazabal cheese bonbon buried inside. “Chefs end up working with what they have,” says Oihaneder.

For the kitchen at Xarma, this means local vegetables, the freshest seafood, and knowledge accumulated from sojourns at several of the region’s best restaurants. And passion: “Whoever wants to be at Xarma has to be in love with cooking,” Díez says. The small yet passionate team is part of the restaurant’s secret.

Besides the two years spent in the kitchen at Arzak, Díez and Oihaneder have worked in France, under Michel Bras; Martín Berasategui, the three-star restaurant in San Sebastián, and other Spanish restaurants decked with Michelin stars, such as the Restaurante del Monasterio de Rocamador.

Xarma means ‘charm’ in Basque, and the restaurant has the critics under its spell. They were recently awarded a second ‘sun’ from the famed Guia Repsol, and it is widely believed that a Michelin star can’t be far behind.

Our other  Sammic Scholarship winner, Susanne Santos, is set to begin the Top Chef BasqueStage in January 2013.  We sat down with her and posed a couple questions…here’s a peek behind the scenes of Susanne’s world.