Pinchos Three-Ways

By cookism

When we were in the Old Town of Barcelona, we stumbled into one of the many pincho bars dotting the neighbourhood. It was so jam-packed with hungry merrymakers that we had to jostle our way to the tables stacked with glorious pinchos (a relative of the tapas but usually with the toppings spiked to a slice of bread). These small snacks may seem unassuming, but after downing a few of them with Sangria, we were restraining ourselves from eating more. Here, we come up with three excellent toppings to get you started, but get creative with the crowning glory of your pinchos and eat to your heart’s content.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bread of your choice, slightly toasted
• 6 heaping tbsp cottage cheese
• 6 slices jamón ibérico
• 1 fig, quartered
• 1/2 cup baby spinach, washed
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 slice Spanish melon, cut into small chunks
• Pinch smoked paprika, to taste
• 2 tbsp honey, to taste
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from cookism.tumblr.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Prepare mise en place. Combine baby spinach, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a bowl. Toss well and season to taste.
2. Spread a generous layer of cottage cheese onto all slices of toasted bread. Now we will start assembling the pinchos.
3. For the Spanish melon and jamón combination, place a few chunks of melon onto the cottage cheese spread. Top it with jamón, scatter a pinch of smoked paprika, black pepper and drizzle honey to taste.

For the baby spinach, tomatoes and jamón combination, lay a slice of jamón on the cottage cheese and top it off with previously prepared salad. Garnish with black pepper, lemon zest and finish off with a drizzle of honey to taste.

Lastly, for the figs and jamón combination, spread a layer of cottage cheese with a slice of jamón. Arrange 2 pieces of figs on it, garnish with black pepper, lemon zest and finish off with a drizzle of honey to taste.

Repeat the steps for another set. Buen provecho!