Last summer I spent two months in Florie in northern Spain with Issy and Poppy, escaping the heat of Andalucía. We parked up along the Basque coast, ate well, and I wandered into a gourmet store somewhere along the way — the kind of place where everything is beautiful and almost nothing is affordable. The Conservas Ortiz bonito in extra virgin olive oil was one of the cheapest things on the shelves. I bought it anyway.

Bonito and guindilla is a classic Basque pairing — you'll find it on pintxos bars from San Sebastián to Bilbao. The pickled guindilla pepper is mild enough to let the fish speak but sharp enough to cut through the richness of the butter. The result is somewhere between a French rillette and a Spanish conserva — not quite either, and better for it. This bonito pâté recipe is the result.

Issy and Poppy were very interested in the bonito. They lost interest entirely when the guindillas arrived.

I only have a small USB blender in the van, so this is rough-smooth rather than silky — which is exactly right. A perfectly smooth pâté would be wrong here. You want texture, a little resistance, the occasional fleck of pepper. Serve it at room temperature with bread and a cold drink, wherever you happen to be parked.

Bonito Pâté Recipe with Pickled Guindilla Peppers

Makes one ramekin. Keeps in the fridge for 2–3 days.

Ingredients

• 1 tin Conservas Ortiz bonito in EVOO (approx 110g drained)
• 30g butter, softened
• 2 pickled guindilla peppers, plus one to finish
• Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ small garlic clove, crushed
• Maldon sea salt and black pepper
• Drizzle of the Ortiz oil to finish

Method

1. Drain the bonito, reserving the oil. Break the fish into a small bowl and check for any stray bones.
2. Put the bonito, butter, 2 guindilla peppers, lemon juice, and garlic into a small blender or food processor. Blitz until roughly smooth — a little texture is good here, especially if you're working with a van blender. Scrape down the sides and blitz again if needed.
3. Taste and season with Maldon sea salt and black pepper. Add a little of the reserved Ortiz oil if the mixture needs loosening.
4. Spoon into a ramekin and smooth the top. Lay the remaining guindilla pepper across the top. Drizzle with a little of the Ortiz oil.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before serving. Better still, make it the night before.

The Flexible Chef Tip: Don't discard the oil from the Ortiz tin. It's been sitting with the bonito and carries all that flavour — use it to loosen the pâté or drizzle over the top before serving. It's too good to waste.

Serving Suggestions

Serve at room temperature with toast, warm bread, or crackers. A few extra guindilla peppers alongside look the part and give anyone who wants more heat the option. This is also an excellent van lunch — pot it the night before, take a baguette, and you have a proper Basque picnic at whatever layby, beach car park, or harbour wall you've woken up next to.

This bonito pâté recipe is part of my Pâté & Rillettes Recipes collection — chicken liver, rillettes, fish pâtés and Spanish no-cook spreads.
It also features in my Campervan Cooking Hub — van life recipes, road food and cooking from Florie on the Iberian Peninsula.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef