A Guest at Sunday Brunch Table, Pinxto of Tomato, Padron Peppers and Iberico Ham Recipe from La Cocina Vasca

A Guest at Sunday Brunch Table, Pinxto of Tomato, Padron Peppers and Iberico Ham Recipe from La Cocina Vasca

by Serge the Concierge

Want a surprise guest, of sorts, at the Sunday brunch table? Serve these Basque ‘amuse-gueules’.

Pinxto of Tomato, Padron Peppers and Iberico Ham recipe from La Cocina Vasca: Recipes & Traditions of the Spanish Basque Country by Mariá José Sevilla (published by Ryland Peters & Small), photography by Clare Winfield.

Browsing through the pages of La Cocina Vasca feels like an invitation to book a visit to the Spanish side of the Basque region.

Pintxo de tomate, pimiento  del Padrón y jamón Ibérico
TOMATOES, PADRÓN PEPPERS & IBÉRICO HAM ON TOAST

This particular pintxo can be scaled up for brunch; simply increase the quantities and serve on thick slices of the best rustic bread you can find.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Spanish extra virgin olive oil
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
few drops of sherry vinegar
6 padrón peppers
6 slices of rustic bread, toasted
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and halved
6 slices of Ibérico ham (with plenty of fat)
pinch of coarse sea salt flakes

SHERRY REDUCTION

1 tablespoon Pedro Ximénez sherry
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

MAKES 6

Directions:

To make the sherry reduction, heat the Pedro Ximénez sherry and sherry vinegar in a small saucepan until it has reduced by one-third.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan/skillet. Once hot, place the tomatoes, cut side down, in the pan so they are not touching each other. Season with a sea salt. Add a few drops of sherry vinegar along with the sherry reduction, then cook until the tomatoes take on a little colour, turning them only once.

At the same time, in a separate pan, cook the padrón peppers in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for a few minutes until lightly charred. Season with sea salt.

To assemble the pintxos, rub the toast with the cut-side of the garlic clove, then drizzle with a few drops of the olive oil. Top each slice of toast with some ham, a few tomatoes and a padrón pepper. Serve hot, as soon as possible after cooking the tomatoes and peppers.

(* Excerpted from La Cocina Vasca: Recipes & Traditions of the Spanish Basque Country
By Mariá José Sevilla, Published by Ryland Peters & Small, Photography by Clare Winfield © Ryland Peters & Small 2025)