Piquillo Peppers - DO

215 g/7.6 oz - Navarra, Spain

The pointy, triangular piquillo peppers (the word means "beak" in Spanish) are 3-4 inches long and have an all-over bright red color. The flesh is compact and rather fine in texture, and the flavor includes a hint of sweetness, very little acidity, and a slight, sneaky heat—nothing like hot chili peppers. Wood-fire roasting gives them a wonderfully mellow smokiness.

Use these red peppers to add flavor as you would olives or capers—they're that versatile. Piquillos can be chopped and added to salads, left whole to garnish platters and antipasto selections, pureed for sauces, dips, and spreads, or stuffed with tuna and capers.

Matiz Piquillo peppers are DO certified. Piquillo peppers are harvested by hand twice between September and December. Once collected, they are transported to processors where they are cleaned and then roasted in wood-fired ovens brought to temperatures from 700º-800º. At this temperature, the peppers roast almost instantaneously. The peppers are cooled, and then peeled and seeded by hand without being washed or submerged in water, as it would affect their flavor and consistency. Finally, they are packed without any added liquid. The liquid in the jar is the juice given off by the peppers during roasting and packing.