The Tinned Fish 25 · No. 12 of 25
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No.12Photo: igourmet
Tuna and mackerel · Spain
Bonito del Norte in Olive Oil
From Conservas Ortiz · Ondarroa, Basque Country
In olive oilNot spicyA Basque family cannery working since the 1890s. Bonito del Norte is white albacore caught one by one with rod and line in the Bay of Biscay in summer, packed with olive oil and salt and nothing else.
The tin Spanish cooks keep in the cupboard for when friends turn up. Silky, mild and serious.
Eat it withPiquillo peppersTomato and onionToast and aioliConservas Ortiz doesn't sell this tin direct here, so the button goes to igourmet, a shop that carries it.
Chef's quick recipe
Bonito and piquillo pepper toast
10 min · 4 toasts · The pintxo you'll find on every bar in San Sebastián: sweet roasted pepper, rich tuna, a little garlic.
Save to my recipesYou need
- 1 tin Ortiz bonito del norte (3.95 oz / 112 g)
- 4 slices baguette, cut on the angle
- 1 garlic clove, halved
- 4 piquillo peppers from a jar, drained
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp sherry vinegar
- 4 good olives or anchovy-stuffed olives
- Flaky salt
How to make it
- Toast the bread until crisp and rub one side with the garlic.
- Stir the mayonnaise with the sherry vinegar.
- Spread a little on each toast and lay a piquillo pepper on top, opened out.
- Lift the bonito out in big pieces and set them on the peppers. Drizzle with a little of the tin's oil.
- Spear an olive on each with a toothpick and finish with flaky salt.
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Next on the list
How to buy a good tin. Look for the fish named on the front (sardines, not "fish"), olive oil rather than "vegetable oil", and a cannery's name and town on the back.
Keep it. Most tins last years in a cool cupboard, and sardines in oil get better with a year or two. Anchovies are the exception: keep them in the fridge.
Serve it. Warm oily fish a little (stand the closed tin in hot tap water for 5 minutes). Chill shellfish in escabeche for 10 minutes. Always keep the oil: it's the sauce.
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