Pass the Salts and Peppers, Please.

by Sue Ann Colvin

Salt and pepper, the staples on every restaurant table in America leave a lot to be desired once your pallet becomes familiar with the variety of sea salts and array of peppers available today. Marinating meats in smoked sea salt and coating vegetables with powdered peppers has replaced the standard fare of "salt and pepper". The choices in peppers are plentiful from just a bit of warmth to a burning heat; peppers add zing to any dish.

Photo, Salt & Pepper Love, courtesy of Elston

The first stop on the pepper map is the Pays Basque!

The Basque region is in the northernmost region of Spain bordering France, in the foothills of the western Pyrenees mountain range, spreading westward along the Bay of Biscay.



Photo courtesy of Bernard

The Basque Country stretches beyond the official borders between France and Spain. The Basques, call their nation Euskal Herria, or Land of the Basque language. The Basque language has been spoken for over 5000 years and continues to be spoken in cities and throughout the countryside. (Map of Basque Country)

Today three million Basques maintain their traditions and happily for the rest of us, their cuisine. Teresa Barrenechea, prize winning author of The Basque Table and The Cuisines of Spain writes in the latter: "We Basques live for cooking and eating." When asked to describe Basque cuisine Barrenechea states: ..."my standard is that it is deeply felt, honors tradition, and respects the natural flavors of the ingredients."

The Espelette pepper has been grown for generations in only 10 villages along the Spanish-French border. It is not a hot pepper but the flavor is warm with touch of heat.

Our Piment d'Espelette is brought to you from a small producer in the town of Espelette, one of 10 towns where denomination of origin Piment d'Espelette is grown.

Paired with chocolate in the 1700’s this pepper is used for coating hams in the Basque region. I was intrigued by the idea of pairing chocolate with pepper and found a great recipe that does just that.


Chocolate Chili Bites
Recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini.com

200g (2 sticks) butter
200g or one package Blanxart Taza powder
250g (1 1/4 C) sugar
5 eggs
1 rounded Tbsp all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp ground Piment d'Espelette -- (adjust to your taste)

Pre-heat your oven to 200°C (400°F).
Melt the butter with the chocolate in a small saucepan or in a bowl in the microwave. If melting in the microwave, be sure to do it slowly, blending with a spoon between each pass.

Transfer into a mixing bowl, add in the sugar, mix with a wooden spoon and let cool a little. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well with the spoon after each addition. Add a rounded tablespoon of flour and the chili powder and mix well.

Pour the dough in the petit four molds, and put into the oven to bake for ten to twelve minutes. The top should look set, but the inside should still be on the soft side. (be sure to use a cooking spray if you're using tin petit four molds, as I did. It can be a bit tricky to get them out without falling apart)

Photo courtesy of Lisa Norwood

(I topped these with a sweet pepper, not a cherry. I used some of the pepper to decorate the plate)

Allow the mini bites to cool down enough to unmold them, then turn them out on a rack to cool completely while you cook the other batches. Store in a plastic container, refrigerate, and take out about an hour prior to serving the next day.

These are delicious treats, you don't taste the pepper until after you swallow. Not hot, the pepper adds a zest to this chocolate goodness.

(Yields 72 mini bites.)