[romero]

viridian farms - piment d’espelette - ezpeletako biperra

It has taken us quite some time and has been difficult for us to acquire this seed, but finally – we have our first crop of piment d’espelette. In the traditional manner, it is dried in ristras for at least one month -- then finished for several days at low heat. Seeded, and packaged as "whole" dried peppers so that you can grind the spice to whatever consistency you prefer. We will have a limited quantity available at Portland Farmers Market on 10/3, 10/6, and 10/13.

Espelette is not only the name of a pepper that plays a signature role in Basque cooking, but is also the name of a small village tucked away at the base of a mountain in the French side of the Basque region, lined with winding streets decorated with bright red chilies that have been tied by hand, one at a time, onto strings. They are hung as ristras on the eaves of white farm houses so the chilies can get a little sun before being heated in a furnace and ground into powder. Cultivated in this part of the Basque country for centuries, the peppers were first used to flavor a unique chocolate recipe. It was originally in the 17th century when espelette peppers were used to spice chocolate in the kingdom's leading chocolate producer, Bayonne. Later on, in the 18th century, it started to be used to season the famous "Jambon de Bayonne" (Bayonne hams) and some other charcuterie items such as paté, sausages and pies. Today, it is used in many basque recipes such as piperade – and most often used in place of regular black pepper. If you are ever traveling in this region, you’ll notice small dishes of ground piment d’espelette at restaurant tables.

Enjoy the harvest,

~Manuel + Leslie @ viridian farms
www.viridianfarms.com

[John DePaula]

Will this also be available at the Hillsdale Farmers' Market on Sunday 10/07/2007?

[chris pez]

and will this also be available to your CSA subscribers this thursday?

[romero]

Sorry, we are only attending the Portland Farmer's Market. Our last date will be 10/13. Stay tuned for online ordering\shipment options......