We hope you are enjoying spring weather wherever you find yourself this week. We started working our fields a few weeks ago and this past weekend's rain provided the needed moisture to help us more easily mix compost into the soil for the growing season ahead.
It's the season of working hard to get everything ready for a new crop. The greenhouse is full of chile starts that are growing away, developing deep roots and new leaves. Once the compost gets fully incorporated into our fields, we will start bed prep - forming beds, laying down drip irrigation lines and weed barrier, and making sure we too are ready for planting season.
We've got cold nights here, but the sunny days are waking up the strawberry plants. And while we won't have strawberries until the days warm up to add sugar to the fruit, I will be spending this week pruning away all the flavorless fruit that grew so far this spring (and then maybe going home and making a strawberry milkshake with last season's frozen berries to remind myself that they are in fact worth growing).
Spotlight on: Piment d'Ville Chile Powder
While our Piment d'Ville chile powder is a spice drawer staple for many of you, there are still some folks out there who have yet to try our flagship spice. We're heading into year 15 of growing Espelette chiles here in Boonville - I'd say this makes us the experts at growing and drying them!
Originally from the Basque region of France, Espelette chiles are the reason we started farming in Boonville. They are grown in a similar climate to Boonville in France - inland from the coast with still a bit of marine influence. They thrive in our hot summer days and soak up the autumn sun to turn from lush green to bright red jewels in the field. We hand pick each pepper, bring it to our greenhouse where it is then de-stemmed and deseeded by hand before heading to the dehydrator. After fully dry, the chiles are ground into a brilliant flaky powder.
When eaten fresh, the chiles have a sharp and strong heat. But when given the time to mature and dry, the heat turns into a sweeter, deeper tomato-chile flavor that adds incredible richness to whatever it is added to. The thick skins of the chile make it perfect for turning into a chile powder.
We make 3 versions of Piment d'Ville - Spicy Piment d'Ville is from the first chiles we harvest that have grown in a more stressed environment. We leave more of the veins of the chiles in the powder to keep the heat. Classic Piment d'Ville is made of mid-season chiles that have a bit more time for the heat to turn to sweetness in the field. This is what we produce the most of. Smoky Piment d'Ville is made of later season chiles that are smoked with mesquite while they are drying. It's a bit sweeter and not as aggressively smoky as a smoked paprika.
At our house, we use Piment d'Ville in place of black pepper, red chile powder, or when a dish needs a bit of an oomph. Well, honestly we put it in just about everything. Top fried eggs with it, toss vegetables with it before roasting, season a whole chicken with it, and you can't go wrong. Looking for a bit more direction? We've got you covered with plenty of recipes!
What We're Cooking
Pan Seared Asparagus: My favorite way to cook asparagus is to blanch it and then sear it on the stove. I break off the woody end of the asparagus where it naturally breaks off, pop it in boiling water for 3 minutes, and then let it sit in an ice bath till it is cool. Then I dry it off, toss it with olive oil and salt, and sear it in a pan for a few minutes. Top it with a sprinkle of Piment d'Ville and lemon juice and serve next to a piece of fish or a roasted chicken leg.
Piselli: This is a Scommegna family classic that is filled with controversy. It's a simple Italian pasta dish made with small ditalini pasta and peas. My grandma is VERY SPECIFIC about how she wants this cooked (canned peas with all the juice. no spices) and it differs from how my parents cook it (mostly drain the canned peas and gently cook the onion in a little of the juice). Half of my extended family would rather pass than eat the juicy pea piselli, a side I'm also on. My grandma called me out for the way I make this, but I really think my version is best: Dice an onion and sauté it in a pan with olive oil, salt, and Piment d'Ville. Add a bag of frozen peas (they taste fresher and aren't as mushy!) and sauté until they are fully cooked. Meanwhile make a pound of ditalini pasta. Mix the onion and pea mixture into the pasta after you've drained it. Season with plenty of parmesan cheese.
Grilled Cheese and Soup from the Freezer: My husband Gideon makes great grilled cheese. It's the perfect thing to pair with the various containers of frozen soup that are part of my quest to eat through the things in our freezer. Make sure to put a big swipe of our Whole Grain Mustard with Piment d'Ville on the bread before grilling it!
Strawberry Milkshakes: Because we're worth it. And there's still a few gallon bags of strawberries in the freezer from last summer. It's just about time to make room for the new crop!
