Steak with gilda butter
Small effort, big flavour.
The ultimate in salty/briny snacks is the gilda. The story goes that in 1946 a regular at Casa Vallés in San Sebastián, Spain (still open!), would sit at the bar and use his cocktail stick to skewer the guindilla peppers, olives and anchovies he had been given to enjoy with his glass of wine. The idea caught on and it was named Gilda after a character/movie that came out in the same year. When I visited San Sebastián many years ago, I knew that going to Casa Vallés, sitting at the bar, drinking an ice cold glass of vermouth and eating gilda was high on my list of things to do. That and eating a piece of Basque cheesecake from La Viña. Both were as dreamy as I imagined.
While this is the most traditional, and the original gilda, there are also many variations. I’ve been to San Sebastián and it’s wild the things they can get onto a stick. It’s not unusual to see them with octopus, tuna, egg, tortilla, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms—you name it. You can even find regional twists on it across Spain.
Not limited to just Spain though, I’ve seen one catering company in Australia that offers both the classic gilda and their own Aussie version: the Edna. Named after Dame Edna (RIP), this version has saucisson sec (fancy salami), pickled malt onions, and a cube of cheddar.
I’m obsessed with the idea that we need a NZ version. Maybe it’s called a ‘Cinda’ after Jacinda Arden? Should it have a smoked mussel? Or a deep-fried oyster? Help, what else would you put on it?
Anyway, the gilda has inspired this week’s recipe. Except instead of being skewered on a cocktail stick, the ingredients are chopped up and mixed into butter, to put atop a steak.
The steak is really just a delivery vehicle for the butter, so use whatever cut you like (I’ve used sirloin, not my fave but it was on special) and cook it to your preferred doneness. I haven’t included steak-cooking instructions—there are way more qualified folks out there to guide you and I feel like everyone has their own method.
Note: One day we should do reverse-sear steaks together though! Have you done one? They’re very fun and how 90% of restaurants cook their steaks.
Feel free to adjust the ratios of the guindilla pepper, olives, and anchovies to suit your preferences. Love olives? Add more. Despise anchovies? Reduce them (but don’t get rid of them entirely, please).
Uses for leftover butter, if you have some - use it as the fat to roast vegetables in, stuff it into a chicken breast, and crumb it like a chicken Kyiv, melt it through a pot of hot boiled new potatoes.
I had a bag of ‘French fries’ in the pantry so we had it with those but y’all know I love a bag of freezer chips.
You want the butter to be soft and melty all over the steak. If the steak has cooled too much during the resting phase and the butter isn’t oozing, put it under a hot oven grill for 30 secs to give it a helping hand.
Steak with gilda butter
Ingredients:
75g butter, at room temperature
4 green olives (I like the ones with pimentos in the middle, but you don’t have to)
3 guindilla peppers (or any other pickled pepper you can get your hands on)
3 anchovy fillets
Steak (whichever cut you like)
Place the butter in a bowl. Finely chop the olives, guindilla peppers, and anchovies—leave them a bit chunky for texture. Mix it all together and set aside while you cook the steak.
Alternatively, for a smoother finish, toss the butter, olives, guindilla peppers, and anchovies into a small food processor and blitz until it's all chopped and combined. Set aside while you cook the steak.
Once the steak is cooked and rested, slice it up and lay it out on a plate. Scoop a spoonful of the butter on the top.
Serve with chips and a green salad.
*If your steak has cooled down and the butter is a bit hard, place it under the grill of your oven for a minute to give it a helping hand.*
I refuse to link to the English man you would probably normally associate with ‘all things butter’ on Instagram but I don’t mind this guy. Last week he sent out a steak frites recipe, the recipe for the sauce is behind a paywall but there are some great steak cooking tips here.
We have one Richard Beauchamp mug and it’s one of our favourites. Perfect size, weight, colour, it stacks! I was on his website with plans to buy more but now I’ve noticed he does bowls too!
I was very sad when the Dosa Plaza near our house closed down. But good news, they’ve opened a new one a short drive away! The Mexican and Italian style dosa may sound a bit weird but they’ll surprise you.
That’s it, that’s all.
Rosie
I more than like your style 😘