La Piperade
Submitted by wickenone
La Piperade, a Basque pepper and egg dish with sauteed bell peppers, tomatoes, hot chili, and ham folded into softly set eggs. A rustic French-Basque brunch or supper.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
Piperade is the Basque country’s answer to scrambled eggs, and it’s leagues beyond anything you’d find at a diner. Bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a small hot chili cook down into a thick, jammy vegetable base, then eggs get stirred through and set gently over low heat. Browned ham crowns the whole thing.
The vegetable base is where the soul of this dish lives. Cook it covered for a full 25 minutes until everything breaks down into a soft, thick stew. Then uncover and blast the heat briefly to drive off excess moisture. You want a concentrated paste, not a watery sauce, because soggy piperade means watery eggs.
Crush the garlic with the flat of your knife and a pinch of salt to make a paste. This distributes garlic flavor evenly through the dish instead of leaving you with random sharp chunks.
The eggs go in last, stirred slowly over low heat. You’re not scrambling them aggressively. Stir gently until they just start to set, then leave them alone to finish. The texture should be creamy and barely firm.
Pro Tips
- The vegetable base can be made days ahead and refrigerated, making this an easy dinner to assemble quickly.
- Brown the ham in the same pan you’ll cook the eggs in. That rendered ham fat adds another layer of flavor.
- Don’t rush the eggs. High heat turns them rubbery. Low and slow is a must here.
Variations
- Swap ham for Spanish chorizo sliced thin for a smokier, spicier version.
- Add a pinch of piment d’Espelette (Basque chili powder) instead of the fresh hot pepper for authentic regional flavor.
- Serve on thick slices of toasted country bread rubbed with garlic.
Ingredients
Directions
Chop the onions.
Using the flat side of a large knife, crush garlic with a pinch of salt.
Core, seed, and chop tomatoes.
Remove stems, seeds, and ribs from red and green bell peppers and chop.
Stem, seed, and mince hot pepper.
The onions and garlic paste; sauté until onions are wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, bell and hot peppers, the sugar, and black pepper to taste.
Stir.
Cook, covered, over medium heat until vegetables are very soft and mixture has thickened, about 25 minutes.
Uncover, increase heat, and reduce mixture for 1 to 2 minutes more.
NOTE: Recipe can be made to this point several days ahead.
NOTE: Recipe can be made to this point several hours ahead.
COOKING AND SERVING: In a frying pan, cook ham over low heat in remaining 1½ tablespoons olive oil until browned, about 5 minutes.
Remove ham with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Reserve oil in pan and pour in egg-vegetable mixture.
Simmer mixture, stirring, over low heat until eggs just begin to set.
Let eggs continue to cook undisturbed until set.
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