I am used to eating Guindillas or Piparras pickled so I was surprised to see them served fried. We were in La Bodega Donostiarra in the Gros district of San Sebastian. They have become synonymous with the Basque Country, despite hailing from the Americas initially. It has become known to the locals as langostino de Ibarra—the Ibarra King Prawn.
Harvesting runs from late June to October: a labour intensive process that involves picking each pepper by hand. They are protected geographically.
After harvesting they are cured, bottled and kept for 30 days before being sent out across the Basque Country.
At their most basic they are a pickle, to be served with anything and everything, or on a stick with anchovies and olives in the classic Gilda pintxo.
On our journey south we stopped at the Mercado del Tinglado in the pretty town of Tolosa. Guindillas were on sale everywhere both fresh and pickled in jars. We bought several jars to consume in Cádiz
