Chef Isabel
Banderilla Vasca
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Pintxo Vasco de Solomillo a la Plancha
Created by
A Basque pintxo of solomillo seared hard on the plancha, set on bread with fried green pepper and coarse salt. The whole dish depends on a hot pan and a short rest.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Dinner Party
Date Night
Celebration
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield8 pintxos
Pintxo Vasco de solomillo a la plancha belongs to the Basque bar counter: a small piece of beef, seared hot, set on bread with a fried green pepper and coarse salt. That is the dish. Not a pile of sauces, not a decoration project. The bread catches the juices, the pepper gives its green bitterness, and the salt wakes the meat up.
The method that decides it is the heat. The plancha, or a heavy skillet if that's what you have, must be properly hot before the beef touches it. Solomillo is tender and lean, so it wants a hard sear and little time. Cook it too gently and it sweats. Cook it too long and you paid for tenderness only to chew through it.
In Spain, solomillo means beef tenderloin. If you're far from a Basque market, use filet mignon, or a very tender top sirloin or strip steak cut into small thick pieces. The sirloin will have more chew, so slice it against the grain after resting. No hace falta haber pisado España. With good beef, green peppers, bread, and a hot pan, it comes out. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Pintxos belong especially to the Basque Country, where small bar-counter bites are often held together with a pincho, the little skewer that gives them their name. In Donostia, Bilbao, and the towns between them, meat pintxos sit beside gildas, tortillas, croquetas, and seafood bites as part of a way of eating that moves from bar to bar rather than sitting down to one large plate. The solomillo pintxo reflects the Basque fondness for plain, well-sourced meat cooked over fierce heat, with little more than bread, pepper, and salt to carry it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef solomillo, tenderloin or very tender sirloin
Quantity
400g
cut into 8 thick pieces
rustic bread
Quantity
8 small slices, about 35g each
cut thick enough to hold the juices
green frying peppers, preferably pimientos de Gernika
Quantity
8
stems left on if small
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
divided
garlic clove
Quantity
1
peeled and halved
coarse sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef solomillo, tenderloin or very tender sirloincut into 8 thick pieces | 400g |
| rustic breadcut thick enough to hold the juices | 8 small slices, about 35g each |
| green frying peppers, preferably pimientos de Gernikastems left on if small | 8 |
| extra virgin olive oildivided | 3 tablespoons |
| garlic clovepeeled and halved | 1 |
| coarse sea salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper (optional) | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy plancha or cast-iron skillet
- •Tongs
- •Small skewers or cocktail picks
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the beef
Take the beef out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking. Pat it very dry and cut it into 8 pieces, each about 50g and 2.5cm thick. Salt it just before it goes on the plancha, not long before, so the surface stays dry enough to sear.
- 2
Fry the peppers
Set a heavy skillet or plancha over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the green peppers and cook, turning often, until the skins blister and soften in places, 4 to 6 minutes. Salt them lightly and lift them to a plate. They should slump a little but still taste green.
- 3
Toast the bread
Brush the bread with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toast it on the same plancha until the cut sides are golden and firm enough to hold the meat juices. Rub each slice once with the cut side of the garlic. Once is enough; this is a pintxo, not garlic bread.
- 4
Sear the solomillo
Raise the heat until the plancha is properly hot. Film it with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Salt the beef, add it to the pan with space between pieces, and sear 60 to 75 seconds per side for medium-rare, or 90 seconds per side if the pieces are thicker. The outside should be browned and glossy, the middle still tender. If the meat gives off water instead of browning, the pan was not hot enough.
- 5
Rest and build
Move the beef to a warm plate and rest it for 1 minute. That short rest is what keeps the juice in the meat instead of soaking the bread before you eat. Put one piece of solomillo on each toast, lay a fried green pepper over it, finish with coarse salt, and pin each pintxo with a small skewer.
Chef Tips
- •In Spain, solomillo is tenderloin. If your butcher hears sirloin and gives you a tougher cut, ask instead for beef tenderloin, filet, or a very tender strip steak. Top sirloin works at a pinch, but rest it well and slice against the grain.
- •Use pimientos de Gernika if you can find them. If not, small Italian frying peppers are the honest substitute. Bell pepper is sweeter and heavier, so cut it into narrow strips and cook it until just softened.
- •Serve these as soon as they are built. A pintxo waits badly once hot meat meets bread. Have the bread toasted and the peppers ready, then sear the beef last.
Advance Preparation
- •Slice the bread and cut the beef up to 6 hours ahead; keep the beef covered in the refrigerator and bring it out 20 minutes before cooking.
- •The peppers can be fried 1 hour ahead and held at room temperature. Rewarm them briefly on the plancha before building the pintxos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 100g)
Calories
230 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
35 mg
Sodium
490 mg
Total Carbohydrates
18 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
14 g
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