piment du Pays Basque

[mint]

Can anyone please advise me what I should do with these?

We have quite a good crop from 2 plants that we planted at the same time as the tomatoes.  They are more chilli shaped and taste more like chillies than bell peppers.  So really quite hot and could not be eaten simply roasted in olive oil.

Ought I to dry them and pound them into something like they do espelette?

Could I put them in olive oil to flavour the oil?  If I do this, do I have to cook the peppers first?

[Just a Frenchie]

We had an enormous crop last year, on 1 plant only. OH put them raw in bags straight into the freezer and uses 1 or 2 when she needs for a recipe (she likes spicy things...). We had so many that we didn't grow them this year as we have more than enough before next summer.

[Lori]

Ohh I'm so jealous !  We can't find truly hot peppers round here.

Yes, you can infuse olive oil with the pepper(s).  If they truly are spicey, I would only use one uncooked pepper (depending on its size) for about 1 litre of olive oil.  I, personally, pierce the one pepper and place it in the oil, then seal.  Should be spicey within a week or two. 

I also like to make a stir fry with a good hot pepper.  Any veggies and/or protein will do.  You can add coconut milk to the stir fry if that suits you. 

We also like to add a pierced pepper to home made pickles.

Yes, you can dry them and crush them to make a powdery/peppery concoction too.  Careful how you use that as, depending on how spicey/hot the peppers are, it can get dicey if it flies into your nose...  :-)

Edit:  Forgot, you can also use a diced pepper with some chopped potato and onion.  Add some lardons if you feel like making it more of a hearty dish.

[Noisette]

Hello mint, another good way of using them is to make Nigella's sweet chilli jelly. Recipe available on Google :-)

[ericd]

Many ways mint ....

- Freeze individually and use as and when needed.

- Dry whole in the hot sun and crumble into glass jars (use like espellette)

- Raw in olive oil (to use on pizzas for example)

- As chutney or Jelly.

[mint]

Thanks for all the suggestions, everybody.  I appreciate them all[:)]

I sliced one up and put it in the pan with our home-grown tomatoes, shallots, garlic, herbes de Province (the usual stuff) and put them all in to roast in olive oil.  But, I can tell you that they are hhhhhooottt!!!

I thought my tongue was on fire but, help was at hand.  I got a fig out of the frigo (figs aplenty as the figuier seems to have gone crazy this year) and ate it quickly.  Fire died down and I have learned some respect for the peppers[:)]

Then I thought of nettles and dock leaves:  you know how dock leaves always grow near nettles so that, after you have been stung, you could soothe your skin by rubbing it with dock leaves?  Well, I think nature has ripened and sweetened figs at the same time as the piments are ready for eating so that you have a remedy if you burn your tongue with the peppers!

[Noisette]

Figs are OK but a glass of wine is better ;-) The alcohol neutralises the capsaicin. Chillies nd wine to be consumed with moderation and preferably not for breakfast :-)

[mint]

I didn't know about this unusual reason for drinking wine, noisette.  So, you could even say, as the British government keeps claiming, you are just "following the science"?[:D][:P]

[mint]

I didn't know about this unusual reason for drinking wine, noisette.  So, you could even say, as the British government keeps claiming, you are just "following the science"?[:D][:P]

[Noisette]

Errrm, not wishing to be rude, but the words 'drinking wine' and 'British government' shouldn't appear together in one post :-) One is a pleasure, the other, well, you get my drift? ;-) Turning out meaningless slogans seems to be just about all they're capable of...

But back to chillies... :-)

[mint]

Noisette, you've got it in one.  It pains me to see it all going down the tube and at such a rate of knots[:'(]

Really a terrible shame.....