Banderillas

In Spain, pickled vegetables, such as gherkins, pearl onions, and olives, are everywhere, from homes to restaurants, from traditional recipes to avant-garde cuisine. The sour, salty, and sweet vegetables vary from region to region, but their tradition is one shared by all. In markets across the country you’ll find tiendas de variantes, stalls with a vast selection of pickled ingredients to be combined on skewers for a seemingly endless combination of banderillas.

Skewers of pickled gherkins, onions, olives, red peppers, and guindilla peppers, banderillas like these are found in just about every pintxo (small snack) bar in San Sebastián and throughout Spain. Serve them straight out of the jar for a quick, authentic pintxo with no preparation necessary. Transform your Bloody Mary or pairs well with cold, lager beer.