Zusatztext "[Bocadillos is] the most captivating and authentic-feeling Spanish tapas-style restaurant in the city." --Michael Bauer! San Francisco Chronicle [A] tasty and broad array of small plates that will tantalize and satisfy. Publishers Weekly Informationen zum Autor Gerald Hirigoyen Klappentext An authentic small plates cookbook from the top Basque chef in America. Acclaimed chef Gerald Hirigoyen's sophisticated and delectable small plates, served at his restaurants, Bocadillos and Piperade, set the standard for tapas in San Francisco. This book features 75 distinctive California-inflected versions of Spanish tapas and French Basque dishes (including Salt Cod with Piperade, Roasted Beets with Moroccan Spices, and Oxtail Empanadas with Spicy Mango Dip) specially written for the home cook. Conveniently organized by type of dish--grilled, soups, braises, skewers and toasts, sandwiches, bean dishes, and fried foods--and illustrated with the exemplary photography of James Beard award-winning photographer Maren Caruso, Pintxos is all you need to host an authentic and stylish tapas party at home. Introduction Even as a kid I enjoyed ir de tapeo, or the tradition of going from one tapas bar to the next, in San Sebastián with my parents and their friends. In my earliest memories of those days, I first see a wall of legs on a floor littered with sawdust, toothpicks, cigarette butts, and shrimp shells, and then my father sweeps me up so I can sample from the awesome display of food on the bar. When I was older and seated at a table in a restaurant, I chafed at having to mind my manners and to wait for each course to arrive, but at the tapas bars I was free. I could take anything I wanted from the platters of child-sized portions-maybe a piece of chorizo, a square of tortilla española, or a hard-boiled egg, along with a Fanta soda-and run off down the street to play with my sister and the other children, before catching up with my parents at the next tasca (tavern). I still like the freedom from formal dining that tapas bars offer, though now as an adult I also appreciate them for their conviviality-as places where people from all walks of life can get together for lively conversation, a glass of wine, and premeal, postmeal, or even full-meal bites. In Spain, tapas specialties vary from region to region and are commonly eaten with knife and fork while seated at a counter. In the Basque region, where I grew up, tapas are known as pintxos, the Basque spelling (pronounced PEEN-chos), or pinchos in Spanish (from the word pinchar, which means "to skewer") and are typically finger foods eaten in one or two bites while standing up. Indeed, the tapas tradition is so strong in the Basque Country that a hard-fought competition, complete with strict rules defining the size of the pintxos, is held annually. Some pintxos are quite basic, maybe just some cubes of chorizo or cheese on toothpicks. Others are more elaborate, such as small sandwiches (bocadillos), plates of fried seafood (fritos), or little earthenware dishes (cazuelitas) of various braises (estofados). And always in San Sebastián you will find creative bite-size combinations of meat, cheese, vegetables, and/or fruit, either threaded onto skewers (pintxos) or placed on top of small slices of bread (montaditos). But whether you call them by their Spanish name tapas or Basque name pintxos, it is the casual way they are served that makes these small plates synonymous with a relaxed, fun-filled atmosphere. Even though informality and spontaneity are the hallmarks of a good tapas bar, the food they serve is taken seriously, and every bar has its specialty or specialties. I can't count the number of times I have been involved in an intense discussion of politics or soccer while sipping Txacolí (a mildly effervescent Basque wine), only to have...

Autorentext

Gerald Hirigoyen

Klappentext

An authentic small plates cookbook from the top Basque chef in America.

Acclaimed chef Gerald Hirigoyen's sophisticated and delectable small plates, served at his restaurants, Bocadillos and Piperade, set the standard for tapas in San Francisco.

This book features 75 distinctive California-inflected versions of Spanish tapas and French Basque dishes (including Salt Cod with Piperade, Roasted Beets with Moroccan Spices, and Oxtail Empanadas with Spicy Mango Dip) specially written for the home cook. Conveniently organized by type of dish—grilled, soups, braises, skewers and toasts, sandwiches, bean dishes, and fried foods—and illustrated with the exemplary photography of James Beard award-winning photographer Maren Caruso, Pintxos is all you need to host an authentic and stylish tapas party at home.

Leseprobe
Introduction

Even as a kid I enjoyed ir de tapeo, or the tradition of going from one tapas bar to the next, in San Sebastián with my parents and their friends. In my earliest memories of those days, I first see a wall of legs on a floor littered with sawdust, toothpicks, cigarette butts, and shrimp shells, and then my father sweeps me up so I can sample from the awesome display of food on the bar. When I was older and seated at a table in a restaurant, I chafed at having to mind my manners and to wait for each course to arrive, but at the tapas bars I was free. I could take anything I wanted from the platters of child-sized portions-maybe a piece of chorizo, a square of tortilla española, or a hard-boiled egg, along with a Fanta soda-and run off down the street to play with my sister and the other children, before catching up with my parents at the next tasca (tavern).

I still like the freedom from formal dining that tapas bars offer, though now as an adult I also appreciate them for their conviviality-as places where people from all walks of life can get together for lively conversation, a glass of wine, and premeal, postmeal, or even full-meal bites.

In Spain, tapas specialties vary from region to region and are commonly eaten with knife and fork while seated at a counter. In the Basque region, where I grew up, tapas are known as pintxos, the Basque spelling (pronounced PEEN-chos), or pinchos in Spanish (from the word pinchar, which means "to skewer") and are typically finger foods eaten in one or two bites while standing up. Indeed, the tapas tradition is so strong in the Basque Country that a hard-fought competition, complete with strict rules defining the size of the pintxos, is held annually.

Some pintxos are quite basic, maybe just some cubes of chorizo or cheese on toothpicks. Others are more elaborate, such as small sandwiches (bocadillos), plates of fried seafood (fritos), or little earthenware dishes (cazuelitas) of various braises (estofados). And always in San Sebastián you will find creative bite-size combinations of meat, cheese, vegetables, and/or fruit, either threaded onto skewers (pintxos) or placed on top of small slices of bread (montaditos). But whether you call them by their Spanish name tapas or Basque name pintxos, it is the casual way they are served that makes these small plates synonymous with a relaxed, fun-filled atmosphere.

Even though informality and spontaneity are the hallmarks of a good tapas bar, the food they serve is taken seriously, and every bar has its specialty or specialties. I can't count the number of times I have been involved in an intense discussion of politics or soccer while sipping Txacolí (a mildly effervescent Basque wine), only to have to stop and say "My God, that pintxo is good!" Of course, many cultures have their little dishes, such as Greek meze, Cantonese dim sum, and Italian antipasti, but the Spanish have turned the concept of small plates into both a social event and a culinary art form.

Spaniards still like to debate the origin of the tapa, but most agree that the first tapas were created in Andalusia to serve a practical purpose: to k…