Basque Piperade
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2 medium onions thinly sliced
-
2 Espelette Basque Chilli
Peppers chopped into 1/2 inch strips
-
1LB large ripe tomatoes - peeled, deseeded and chopped into
1/2 inch cubes.
-
Fresh chilli, according to taste and hotness wanted.
-
1 or 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
-
Fresh thyme
-
5 eggs, beaten
-
salt and pepper
For the
garnish:
2 oz (50 g)
chorizo sausage, cut into rounds and lightly fried
in butter
2 oz (50 g) Bayonne ham, lightly sautéed in a little
butter
Preparation
Melt the butter and olive oil in the pan and
add the onions, cooking them very gently for 10 minutes without
browning. Now add the crushed garlic, tomatoes and
Espelette Basque Chilli Peppers,
stir everything around a little, season with salt and pepper and
thyme, and cook without covering for another 15 - 20 minutes or
so.
Now beat the eggs thoroughly, pour them into
the pan and, cook as for scrambled eggs. When the mixture starts
to thicken and the eggs are almost cooked, remove the pan from
the heat, continuing to stir, and serve immediately. Serve in
the centre of the plate with the sausage rounds and ham slices
around the edge.
Marmitako
-
2 dried ancho chillies
-
1 pound fresh tuna fillet
-
Coarse salt
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4 potatoes, about 2 pounds total weight
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1/3 cup olive oil
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1 onion, finely chopped
-
1 clove garlic, minced
-
1/2 green bell pepper or 1/2
Espelette Basque Chilli Pepper, seeded and cut lengthwise into
narrow strips
-
1 tablespoon Espelette Basque Chilli
powder
Preparation
In a heatproof bowl, combine the dried chiles with boiling water to cover
and let stand for 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain the chiles, slit them
open, and scrape off the flesh with the edge of a knife, discarding the
seeds, skins, and stems, Set the flesh aside.
Cut the tuna into small pieces. Sprinkle the pieces with coarse salt and
set aside.
Peel the potatoes. To 'crack' the potatoes into chestnut-sized pieces,
make a small cut in each potato and then break it open the rest of the way.
Set the potato pieces aside.
In a stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion,
garlic, and bell pepper, and the flesh from the chiles, stir well, and cook,
stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the onion and bell pepper
have begun to soften and all the ingredients are well blended.
Add the potatoes and Espelette Basque
Chilli powder and mix well. Season with a little coarse salt and add
water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, cover, decrease the heat to
medium-low, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are
fork-tender.
Add the tuna pieces to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the
tuna is opaque. Remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes before
serving. If the is very clear because the potatoes didn't release enough
starch, mash a piece or two against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon and shake the pot a little.
Reheat gently to serving temperature. Ladle into
warmed bowls and serve at once.
Are you buying the genuine
Espelette Basque Chilli Pepper seeds?
Only Espelette
Products
Stamped
With This Logo Are The Genuine
Piment d 'Espelette AOC Powders, Seeds and Pods
Our seeds are sold with a certificate of authenticity
and are from what is considered the best growing district in the
Espelette Basque AOC area.
The Genuine Espelette pepper is grown only in 10 areas: Ainhoa,
Cambo-les-Bains, Espelette, Halsou, Jatxou, itxassou, Larressore, Pée
Saint-sur-Nivelle, and Souraïde Ustaritz.
Our
Espelette Basque Chilli Pepper seeds are
from the most prized growing area in the Piment D' Espelette Basque AOC.
Originally from South America, it seems that the pepper
was imported in 1650 by a Basque navigator who accompanied Christopher
Columbus. After years of studies and tests 2000 saw the recognition of the
AOC Piment d' Espelette. The appellation was enhanced in 2002 by obtaining the
European PDO, Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)
This means that the seeds are protected and can only be grown in the
areas mentioned above and is against the law to grow to sell seeds and
name them
as Espelette Basque Chilli Pepper
Products/Seeds.
Basque chilli pepper production is managed by the
Department of Fraud which guarantees the origin of the
Espelette Basque Chilli Pepper pods,
powder and seeds.
The Basque chilli pepper is more aromatic and sweet than
hot. Espelette chilli peppers are tied with string the strings of
peppers are hung in the kitchens to dry. Once dried they are
ground to a powder which is very much prized around the world in the
home and in many restaurant kitchens.
In the kitchen, this spice substitute is for providing pepper spice and
perfume to all your meals.
The chilli is used in Basque Cuisine to give taste to the simplest
dishes such as omelettes, fried eggs, grilled sardines or salads…
Sprinkled on grilled goat or sheep cheese, the Basque chilli breathes
out its blend of flavours. We always add a pinch of Espelette chilli
powder in Basque recipes such “piperade”, “axoa” or “marmitako”.
Basque chilli can have a fruity tomato flavour or a dry hay scent, but
what makes it special is the aromatic aspect of it, rather than its
intensity.
Depending on the Summer the Espelette chilli pepper plant grows between
60cm and 1.5m high producing between 15 to 30 fruit per plant.
10 seeds £2.00 |
