Here at Culinary Collective we always love sharing stories about the people and farmers behind our best-selling products. Since the beginning, we've been importing the finest Spanish veggies from Pedro Luis. Pedro Luis is a small family-owned company that preserves the piquillo peppers and artichokes that go into our Matiz line of jarred veggies.
Pedro Luis began over 40 years ago in the Navarra region of northern Spain, and is now run by second generation family. If you've ever been to this part of Spain, you know that piquillo peppers are found in just about every tapas bar and on most restaurant menus - either stuffed, on salads or simply all by themselves. Piquillo means "little beak", and it's easy to see how they got their name. These bright red peppers have a triangular beak-like shape, and the flavor is sweet and pungent.
These little peppers are special for a few reasons. Pedro Luis peppers are fire roasted right after harvest, and the char from each pepper is delicately removed by hand, not by pressurized water which rinses away all of the flavor. Also, these peppers are hand-picked in the Ribera del Ebro region of Navarra where piquillo peppers originate, and carry an exclusive seal of authenticity, granted to only those piquillos harvested in that region.
Pedro Luis also provides the big, beautiful artichoke hearts for our Matiz brand. They are hand-picked and jarred with only a bit of salt - nothing artificial! They melt in your mouth and are perfect on pizza or to pair alongside a few olives and cheese.
Check out our recipe page for the myriad ways to use piquillo peppers in everyday meals and tapas. ¡Buen provecho!
