Peperoni Cruschi

Basilicata's sun-dried sweet peppers of Senise, flash-fried for seconds until they puff and turn as brittle as a crisp, crumbled over pasta, beans, and salt cod

Origin: Italy

From the journey of Bell Pepper.

The peperone di Senise, grown in the Sinni valley of Basilicata and protected by a geographical indication, is a sweet pepper of a very particular kind: long, tapering, and unusually thin-walled, with a low water content that makes it ideal for drying. Through August the peppers are threaded on string into long garlands called serte and hung from balconies and house fronts to dry in the sun, turning the villages of the region deep red for weeks and providing one of the defining images of Lucanian life. The dried peppers are then fried, and this is where the magic happens: dropped into hot oil for no more than two or three seconds, they puff, darken slightly, and turn from leathery to brittle, becoming crusco, 'crunchy'. Cooled, they shatter like a crisp and taste of concentrated sweet pepper with a faint smokiness and no heat whatever. They are eaten whole as a snack with a glass of wine, crumbled over the region's pasta dishes, scattered on baccalà and on beans, and pounded into a coarse powder used as a seasoning. It is one of the most distinctive things done with a sweet pepper anywhere in Europe, and the timing of the frying is unforgiving.

Ingredients

12 whole dried sweet peppers (peperoni di Senise or similar thin-walled sweet peppers)
250 ml extra-virgin olive oil, for frying
1 pinch fine salt

Method

Wipe the dried peppers clean with a dry cloth. Snap off the stalks and shake out and discard the seeds, taking care not to break the pods more than necessary.
Heat the olive oil in a small deep pan to about 160°C. Test with a small piece of pepper: it should sizzle immediately and puff within a second or two without darkening instantly.
Fry the peppers one or two at a time for no more than 2 to 3 seconds each, turning once, until they puff, brighten, and the surface blisters. Lift out immediately with tongs onto kitchen paper.
Sprinkle at once with a little fine salt and leave to cool completely, when they will crisp fully.
Serve whole as a snack, or crumble over pasta, beans, potatoes, or salt cod. Store in an airtight jar.

Notes

Genuine peperoni di Senise are worth seeking out from Italian suppliers, as their thin walls are what make the technique work; thicker dried peppers, including most dried chillies, will not puff and crisp in the same way. The classic Lucanian uses are with orecchiette or the local strascinati, dressed with the pepper oil, breadcrumbs, and crumbled cruschi; over baccalà; and stirred into a purée of dried broad beans. Ground to a powder, they make an excellent sweet, faintly smoky seasoning for eggs and potatoes.

The Gastrographer

Name: Peperoni Cruschi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 12 whole dried sweet peppers (peperoni di Senise or similar thin-walled sweet peppers); 250 ml extra-virgin olive oil, for frying; 1 pinch fine salt

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control