When I’m making toast, I like to use a very thin bread called pan de cristal or pan de coca that you can buy from Brindisa and other Spanish shops. It’s not like biting into regular toast, it’s very airy and crisp and doesn’t fill you up too much – it’s similar to ciabatta, but not as thick. When you are eating pintxos, you don’t want the main taste to be the bread, but what’s on top of it – in this case, the anchovies and lardo. The bread is there to add texture and to catch any juices.
If you do buy pan de cristal or pan de coca, you can freeze it, although you can also use ciabatta, or other good bread, if you like.
Cut the bread in half lengthways and lightly toast it. Each slice should be around 10–12cm – in the kitchen we call this size ‘four fingers’.
Put the lardo on the toast (there should be enough lardo to cover each slice and for you to really feel you are eating lardo!), then cover each with 4 anchovies.
Dress the peppery leaves with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Put the leaves on a plate, then place the toasts on top and dress with more olive oil and salt.