Spanish Pinchos

Versatility is the key here, so experiment and use your favorite sweet and savory ingredients to build these beautiful 2-bite treats.  For a savory take, try roasted butternut squash, roasted red peppers, sautéed shrimp and a sliver of garlic. For a sweeter pincho, pile bread with a honey-rosemary-goat cheese spread, roasted butternut squash and sliced fig, but remember, you have to secure your masterpiece with a toothpick for it truly to be a pincho!

Ingredients

  • crusty bread (baguette) cut into rounds
  • small shrimp
  • butternut squash
  • garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • beets, washed, dried, stalks & leaves removed
  • herbed-marinated olives
  • roasted red peppers
  • olive oil
  • dried rosemary
  • goat cheese
  • mission figs, sliced
  • honey

Equipment

  • toothpicks

How-to

Sauté Shrimp

  1. Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet, add garlic and shrimp and cook over medium heat until shrimp are no longer translucent and turn pink, 5-8 minutes
 

Roast Butternut Squash

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Peel and cut butternut squash to desired size, drizzle with olive oil and lightly salt. Toss the squash until evenly coated
  3. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the oven until the squash can be easily pierced with a knife, about 15- 20 minutes
 

Roast Beets

  1. Preheat oven to 375º
  2. Place beets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
  3. Drizzle olive oil over beets and evenly coat them with your hands or a brush
  4. Season with salt and pepper
  5. Roast for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, turning the beets halfway through cooking time, or until you can easily insert a knife into them
  6. Remove skins and slice
 

Assemble Savory Pinchos

  1. Layer sliced bread with butternut squash or beet, roasted red peppers, olive, a shrimp, and a slice of garlic then skewer with a toothpick. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil to finish and enjoy
 

Make Honey Rosemary Goat Cheese

  1. Combine honey, rosemary and softened goat cheese until mixture become spreadable. Taste the mixture and add additional honey or rosemary if necessary 
 

Assemble Sweet Pinchos

  1. Layer sliced bread with a dollop of goat cheese mixture, butternut squash and a slice of fig. Secure with toothpick and enjoy!