La Biblioteca del Gusto
Volume 11 · Powder
Senise crusco pepper, at 18%, with chickpeas, tomato, leek and herbs on a rice flour base. The flavour of Basilicata in a powder for pasta, risotto and creams.
Around Senise, in Basilicata, peppers are dried in summer hanging in the sun, in long strings called serte. Once dried, they keep all year.
Crusco is the next step. The dried pepper, with stalk and seeds removed, is dipped for a few seconds in hot oil and turns crisp. Ground, it colours and flavours the traditional dishes of Basilicata.
The Senise pepper has thin flesh and little water: that is why it dries well and quickly. It is grown in the Sinni valley, largely within the Pollino National Park.
The other ingredients are Italian: chickpea flour, tomato, leek from Veneto, garlic from the Valle dell'Ufita, Sicilian oregano, rosemary from the Monregalese. The base is rice flour, with Trapani salt.
Sweet and toasty, not hot. Crusco has a rounded taste, with a warm depth. The chickpeas give body, the herbs freshness. Stirred into pasta or risotto, it leaves a warm red colour.
Italian ingredients, with origin, pepper percentage and nutritional values stated on the label.
