Piquillo Peppers

[SethG]

Mark Bittman had a piece today in the NY Times about a versatile sauce he makes from piquillo peppers (free registration required to view article).

I was intrigued by the article, but it would've been nice if he'd mentioned where he buys these peppers. I'm sure they're at Fairway and perhaps Garden of Eden, but I wonder if anyone knows a place where I can buy them downtown, i.e., below Canal. I tried both Zeytuna and Jubilee Marketplace and came up empty. I'll venture up to Dean & Deluca if someone tells me they're definitely there, and for a non-outrageous price.

Anyone buy these peppers downtown?

[MobyP]

Isn't there a pepper/chile stall in the downtown green market?

I had a dish of piquillo peppers stuffed with oxtail at Batali's Casa Mono a few days ago. A great match.

[Bux]

You're not going to find fresh piquillo peppers in a NYC greenmarket. In fact you'd have a hard enough time finding fresh piquillo peppers in Navarra even in season. Commerically they're grown for the canning industry and it's my understanding that most chefs in Spain work with canned piquillos. The best are roasted and peeled by hand.

- Pimiento del piquillo. The great, traditional specialty of Lodosa, a village in Navarre, this only became available commercially some 25 years ago when they were first canned. A thin-fleshed, mild, round mid-sized pepper, it's allowed to turn red and picked (late September to November)  and immediately roasted (at a low temperature), then peeled and bottled in brine: no washing, no chemical treatment. They can be heated, then eaten with a little olive oil, alone or with fried eggs, or perhaps some fried blood sausage, or stuffed with fish or shellfish. The taste is more intense and, simultaneously, more refined than that of the fleshier 'morrón' peppers. That's why so many stuffed pepper recipes call for piquillos these days.

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Spanish canned goods are the "nec plus ultra" and they keep getting better and more varied.  It's quite a surprise, for instance, for fans of the small "diamante" piquillo peppers, that probably the best brand, "El Navarrico", was founded only in 1960 and is so successful - in other words, the peppers are so delectable, perfectly roasted and carefully packed - that they're becoming quite hard to come by. 

Although very incomplete, I found this  Web Site (in Spanish) to be helpful - it's also quite critical and forthright.

I suggest a good approach would be to make a list of absolutely reliable brands that eGulleteers everywhere can absolutely trust.  Here's a little list of my own:

El Navarrico;

Rosara;

(for canned vegetables from Navarre: piquillo peppers; artichokes, etc.)

Los Peperetes;

Consorcio;

Ortiz (already very famous, but no web site)

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I don't know where to get these in NY, but I know they are served in restaurants, so they are imported. The brand recommended to me was Lodosa, which we bought in the Pais Vasco. Piquillo peppers are generally mild with a slight bite, but we've had some that were surprisingly piquant.

On our recent trip to Spain we bought some canned Lodosa brand piquillo peppers. I opened them the other day and served them cold with fresh boquerones we had also bought at the market in Madrid. To all of our surprise they were very, very spicy, like scotch bonnets or something hot like that.  Wow, they were hot. We have other jars of Lodosa brand piquillo peppers and they were not hot, how is that? There is no indication on the box that they would be hot. And it was not just one, but all of them! Anybody have any comments?

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Mmmmm, the 'devil piquillos', huh? As treacherous as 'pimientos de Padrón'? I had heard of and also tasted some more 'piquant' (compared with the usual sweetness) piquillos, but never as hot as those you describe. I believe it's indeed a latent risk with capsicums in general - their heat can sometimes accentuate without much forewarning.

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There's plenty more to be found on piquillos if you do a search on the Spain forum.

[andiesenji]

I have used the piquillos that are sold in jars and have stuffed them with various things. They are quite good but the heat varies considerably from brand to brand and jar to jar, often they are too hot for some of my guests and I had to find something else to serve them. Some have even been too much for me!

Since Ideal Cheese began carrying peppadews I have substituted these and found that they are much more reliably in having just enough heat and with excellent flavor. They are very similar to the piquillos and certainly appear to be related.

They ship to me overnight but since you are fairly local, call and see if they have them in stock. Ideal Cheese

942 1st Avenue

New York, NY

(212) 688-7579

I should add that since they sell them in bulk, you can taste before you buy if you go to the store.

Edited November 4, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[lambretta76]

Most small "gourmet" markets carry at least one kind of piquillos - for instance - both Sahadi's and Pacific Green in Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens, respectively, carry them. (Pacific Green sells South African peppadews as well.)

I imagine the Spanish/Portuguese stores would sell them (such as Despana Brand Foods in Jackson Heights), as would Kalustyans. Or, you could order them from Tienda.

Piquillo peppers at Tienda.com

[AlexP]

I live in Minneapolis and I have found them in a couple local chain supermarkets. There are usually more expensive than online. You might want to make a couple calls in your region.

I have used the following two Internet sources and they are good:

La Española Meats, Inc.

Piquillo Peppers

La Tienda

Piquillo Peppers

I have always been really satisfied with La Española Meats.

Hopefully this helps.

Alex

Edit: Obviously I am too slow writing... Two new replies before I even wrote mine.

Plus spelling in second edit wow.

Edited November 4, 2004 by AlexP (log)

[docsconz]

I have seen and purchased bulk piquillo peppers of good quality at Whole Foods in Ridgewood, N.J.. I would imagine that they are also available at Whole Foods in NYC, esp. at Time Warner.

Upstate, I have seen them for sale at Mrs. London's in Saratoga Springs.

My favorite way of using them is to stuff them with crabmeat or shrimp and a bechamel sauce. I believe the most common stuffing in Spain is salt cod.