Beautiful to behold and delightful to eat, peperoni cruschi are Basilicata’s “red gold,” the pride of Lucanian cuisine. What’s so special about the peperone crusco? To start with, these crispy peppers are unique and irresistible. They’re a true Southern Italian regional specialty!
WHAT IS A PEPERONE CRUSCO?
First off, peperone is pepper in Italian, and if you choose peperoni for a pizza topping in Italy, you may be confused and disappointed with the pizza that arrives to your table, devoid of meat and emitting a distinct bell pepper aroma. Crusco refers to the crunch, and peperoni cruschi (plural) are pleasantly crispy peppers that sound like a potato chip when bitten.
How do they get the crunch? Well, they don’t use just any old pepper. The pepper of choice has a thin, glossy skin, characterized for its low water content. They’re also red when mature. In the countryside and in towns, these red peppers can be seen hanging out to dry, intertwined in long strings and suspended from balconies or any available hook.
Red peppers on a balcony in Basilicata
Sometimes they’re prominently featured, and other times, they hang alongside the laundry.
Drying peppers and laundry
The dried peppers become cruschi when quick-fried in extra virgin olive oil. Removed from the heat to cool down and crisp up, the peperoni cruschi are given a pinch of salt, and ecco (voilà) – there’s your dish!
Buon appetito!
Don’t let the bright red color and shape fool you. Peperoni cruschi aren’t spicy like peperoncino, rather they’re very mild, flavorful, sweet peppers. Eaten with your hands, these crunchy peppers make a pleasurable appetizer or snack.
PEPERONI CRUSCHI IN RECIPES
Peperoni cruschi are used both whole and broken up. In restaurants, they are frequently featured whole as an appetizer. The brightly colored peppers present extremely well on a plate. A local comfort food consists of frying up a few eggs in the pepper’s cooking oil and eating them together with a couple peperoni cruschi. Another common pairing is with baccalà or salted codfish, served together with the enriched cooking oil.
Baccalà with peperoni cruschi
Contemporary recipes include this baccalà mousse, covered with grains of peperone crusco.
Baccalà mousse with pulverized peperoni cruschi and a glass of Agliano del Vulture DOC wine
And a baccalà ball with larger pieces of the crushed, sweet peppers.
Crispy baccalà ball with a potato and caciocavallo puree topped with pieces of peperoni cruschi
Pasta courses are often served with peperoni cruschi e mollica di pane (breadcrumbs).
Classic Lucanian pasta with an excellent Aglianico del Vulture DOC wine
Here’s a dish of orecchiette with a sauce made from the peppers and topped with crushed pieces of them.
Orecchiette with a pepper sauce and topped with peperoni cruschi
You may even find a pizza with these peppers!
Pizza with fresh tomatoes, capers, mozzarella and peperoni cruschi!
In powder form, the peppers were traditionally used to season pasta and legumes. The aromatic spice enhanced cured meats while lending antioxidant properties. When whole or crumbled, peperoni cruschi combine flavor with an interesting textural component. And with their growing popularity and recognition, chefs continue to incorporate these special peppers in inventive dishes.
Black pig capocollo with Tursi oranges and peperone crusco
PEPERONI DI SENISE, THE DETAILS
The true red gold of Basilicata comes from Senise, a town in southern Basilicata, in the Province of Potenza on the border with the Province of Matera. Although peperoni have origins in the New World and only arrived to Europe in the 16th century, they found a very favorable terrain in the area of Senise. The name Senise derives from the local Sinni River, and interestingly, the dam of which, Europe’s largest with an earthen base, is in the town’s territory.
Peperoni di Senise
In 2016, the Peperoni di Senise were awarded the European Union’s accreditation “IGP” or PGI in English, protected geographical indication. According to regulations, the peppers can also come from the surrounding communities straddling the border between Basilicata’s two provinces: Chiaromonte, Sant’Arcangelo, Francavilla Sul Sinni, Roccanova, Noepoli, Valsinni, Colobraro, Tursi, San Giorgio Lucano, Montalbano Jonico and Craco.
The eligible peppers span between 9 and 17 centimeters in length, have a pulp with a thickness ranging from 1.5 to 2.2 millimeters, possess a low water content, are red when mature and boast a stalk with the strength not to separate from the fruit during the drying process. The perfect pepper for the purpose!
The author with a string of dried peppers
STRINGING PEPPERS
The harvest is by hand, beginning in early August. The peppers are first spread out on cloth sheets or netting in dry, well-aerated locations out of the sun for two or three days. They are then strung, one by one, into long garlands with a needle and string at a 120-degree-angle spiral in groups of three to reach a length of 150 to 200 centimeters (59-79 inches).
Stringing peppers by hand in Senise
The “serte” – chains of peppers – are rather heavy!
The author lifting a heavy string of peppers
The peppers are then hung to dry in the sun until the water content is reduced to 10-12%, after which they must be stored in locations with good ventilation.
The dried garland is much, much lighter!
Author Karen Haid with a “serta” of “peperoni”
A one-kilo string of peppers sells for about 50 Euros.
Dried peppers sold by weight
PEPERONI CRUSCHI, WHAT’S IN A NAME?
It’s no surprise that peperoni cruschi are on Basilicata’s list of Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, an official catalog of traditional agricultural products put out by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests. Of course, peperoni cruschi is the Italian name for the crunchy peppers. In Senise, they’re called źafaranë crušchë, and other names include puparulë, paparulë, pëpërussë, pupaccë and pupavërë crušchë, while in northern Calabria, where they’re also eaten, zafarani, pìpi cruschi e vajanelli jarli.
Peperoni cruschi appetizer with a Matera Primitivo DOC wine
Incidentally, the Peperoni di Senise are also used fresh, in ways you would normally think of cooking a pepper. A bit more unconventional would be a dish of peperone crusco gelato. Curiosity piqued? Even sticking with the savory, to enjoy the sensation of crunching on one of these crisp peppers, you may have to take a trip to Basilicata or parts nearby. Until then, here’s an exotic dessert of whipped cream, chocolate and peperoni cruschi to ponder.
Dessert with cream, chocolate and peperoni cruschi
Join me on my Basilicata Cultural Tour and sample the peperone crusco for yourself!
Check out the itineraries of my SMALL-GROUP TOURS to Calabria and Basilicata, beautiful Southern Italian regions with outstanding food and wonderful historical treasures!
Read all about the fascinating Calabrian region in my book Calabria: The Other Italy, described by Publisher’s Weekly as “an intoxicating blend of humor, joy, and reverence for this area in Italy’s deep south,” and explore Calabria’s northern neighbor in my book Basilicata: Authentic Italy, “recommended to readers who appreciate all things Italian” by the Library Journal.
Follow me on social media: Basilicata Facebook page, Calabria: The Other Italy’s Facebook page, Karen’s Instagram and Karen’s Twitter for beautiful pictures and information.
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