Espelette is a small village in the Basque region of south west France, near the Pyrenees. To be honest, the area doesn't look particularly promising from a spice growing perspective, the picturesque rolling green hills reminded me a bit of Shropshire or Herefordshire. It's tempting to say them thar hills conceal a spicy secret, but in truth the 'secret' is plastered over every available wall and road-sign in the region - this place is renowned for a very particular red chilli pepper grown there, piment d'espelette.

Basque people have historically been seafarers and great fisherman, and there's evidence they were fishing for cod off Newfoundland way back in the 15th century (pre-Columbus). Either way, at some point over 400 years ago a basque seafarer brought back seeds from Mexico for a chilli plant (the real story seems to have been lost or forgotten somewhere along the way). It grew well in the area around Espelette and over time the locals managed to produce a unique pepper with a very particular flavour that everyone there came to love. It proved to be useful for its antibacterial properties (something it has in common with most chillies) and was used to help cure the hams and sausages that the local pig farmers produced, while the flavour was appreciated as a useful seasoning in the local cooking.

Apparently the particular microclimate in the area is perfect for growing this chilli - it's hot in the summer but also very wet with regular rainfall and a high level of ground water (maybe due to its position between the mountains and the sea). This means that even in the height of summer when the temperature can top 30C, all around is still very green and verdant, and the chilli grows quite happily without any artificial watering or treatments. The mild climate means that the peppers are harvested all the way from August to December.

 

 

The piment itself is maybe 10cm long with a thick cylinder shape and a nice glossy red skin. When dried it looks a bit like the Mexican guajillo (which i suspect it may be related to originally) but has a much thinner skin and fewer seeds. There are strict rules on how the chilli is dried (only by air, not artificial heat) so the fresh peppers are layered in open wooden crates to dry slowly under cover. The first thing that strikes you on walking into the drying rooms is that there's no fierce chilli pungency in the air at all, only a subtle, slightly sweet hay-like scent.  The peppers are finished in a 50C oven for 36 hours to reduce the moisture content before being ground to maximum 5mm pieces and immediately vacuum sealed either in jars or pouches. The PDO regulations mean that piment d'espelette can only be sold in its original packaging, which is why we're only able to offer the 250g size as its the smallest amount that's packed in postable pouches, not in heavy glass jars.

 

The thing that's unique and special about this pepper is that it has a very mild level of heat but none of the strong dried chilli scent and flavours you normally get. It has a soft texture without any tough skin or thick flesh. It's tempting to say it's a chilli for people who don't like chilli, but it's probably fairer to say its a chilli that's been specifically bred for centuries to suit the European palate! The powder has a really lovely scent reminiscent of dried tomato and a concentrated sweet red pepper flavour with very slight tangy and bitter notes. The nice thing about it is that you can use it for pretty much any purpose - it's a delicate sophisticated flavour, ideal for seasoning European food where anything stronger would be in danger of overwhelming.

 

 

All around the area are signs for for chilli producers and sellers, and many of the buildings have the strings of dried peppers hanging outside or inside. Everywhere you look are pictures or reminders of the chillies and it all feels rather daring and exotic in a European context, but actually the use of the pepper in the local cooking is really very timid. There's a little sprinkle here and there. but it seems the delicate French palate would be too traumatised by too much being added!

 

 

 

even the local Spar shop has chilli strings hanging up outside

 

 

 

The classic local dish is piperade - a stew of tomatoes, red, green and yellow peppers served with salty cured ham and fried or scrambled eggs. The flavour of the sweet peppers is important but so is a little pinch of piment d'espelette in the stew and at the end giving a very subtle bit of heat.

 

 

 

 

this is a brilliant video of Keith Floyd being told off by a local grandmother for making a terrible version of piperade (and to be fair, it does look pretty bad).....

Other than that the dried peppers are often found in little dishes on the table in place of black pepper to season your food (most restaurants in the area seem to have little pots of the pepper on the table for you to season the food in place of peppermills). As far as I could tell there don't seem to be any particular dishes where the flavour of the piment is central to the dish. If anything this may be because the flavours of the pepper are subtle and so can be used in virtually any dish in a similar way to black pepper. The best way to make the most of its delicate flavours are to use it as a seasoning at the end of cooking or at the table - add a little sprinkle of the flakes on pretty much anything just as you'd use black pepper. The whole dried peppers you see on the strings hung up on buildings in the region are better used in the cooking process where you can either add them whole to a soup or stew, or cut them into strips and add them at the start. The area was awarded a PDO by the EU in 2000 meaning that only peppers grown in 7 villages can call their product piment d'espelette and in classic EU style there are a huge number of rules and regulations on how far apart the plants must be spaced, how much or little water they must be given during the growing season, when they're picked, how they're dried and processed and much more. The colour and heat level are carefully monitored and because of all this, the product is extremely consistent and high quality...... but of course all this attention to detail doesn't come cheap! The final product is expensive but it is extremely high quality and gives a unique flavour that really suits European cooking - please give it a try! Many thanks to Martine in Cambo les Bains for showing me round and talking me through the growing process.