Grandma’s Spicy Little Secret

Yet again, I am writing about Grandma. But, let me tell you…there’s a reason why. This woman knows how to cook. Her specialties are the Italian classics of her Abruzzese heritage. One thing that she always keeps a steady inventory of is her homemade hot chili oil. She always has a dish ready in her cupboard, waiting for dinner or lunch service. Then, in her garage, she always keeps string of drying chilis that she picked up at the local farmer’s market the season before. She uses a larger, hot, red variety available at the market. I prefer the small, super hot Calabrian chilis that I get at my favorite gourmet Italian grocer, Lombardi’s (outside of Rochester, NY), or buy online from Eataly (when I don’t have a NYC or Boston trip planned).

This oil is one of those things that you casually bring out with a meal, set next to the salt and pepper, and let your new guests ask about before humbly bragging that it’s your homemade hot chili oil. It adds an approachable, homestyle sophistication to casual entertaining. Plus, it packs an intense 1-2-punch minus the extra flavors that come along with hot sauce; just a hot, tingly, numbing spice that everyone can adjust to their tastes.

INGREDIENTS:

• a handful or more of dried hot chilis of your choice (I use Calabrian chilis)

  *note: check out your local farmer’s market and see if there are any local growers that carry beautiful, hot chilis

• enough extra virgin olive oil to submerge the chilis (don’t use super high quality because you will be heating it)

PREPARATION:

1. Start by heating up a small saucepan low to medium-low heat. The goal here isn’t to necessarily cook anything, but to soften the chilis in the oil so that we can grind them up more easily.

2. Remove the stems and caps from the chilis. Be careful not to lose any seeds.

3. After the chilis have been prepped and the pan is hot, we are ready to put them in. To make it less work to break apart later, I cut each chili, with a scissor, into small pieces over the pan.

4. Then, I like to toast them until fragrant. I don’t really know if it matters, but at least I’m killing some bacteria, right?!

5. Once toasted, add enough EVOO to fully submerge the chilis.

6. Stir occasionally and keep cooking about fifteen minutes or so, until the peppers begin to soften. They will not get “soft” by any means, but the oil will begin to change color and the chilis won’t be so dry and hard anymore.

7. Next, we grind up the chilis. I use a marble mortar and pestle that I got from that Italian specialty store, because that is traditional and I’m a sucker for tradition. However, you can do it with a fork, directly in whatever non-reactive glass container you will store it in.

8. After the peppers are ground in the oil to small-flake consistency, it is time to store it. Make sure it’s in a food-grade glass jar for storage (I use a small glass pyrex container), and you’re done!

tips to spice things up:

My family uses this oil on pasta, pizza, eggs, in our hot wings…you name it, this is in it. Like I said, we put it out with dinner, and some people add a little for a hint of spice, others like to be pouring sweat so they add a spoonful. An unexpected twist is to mix it with some honey - that’s good drizzled over pizza or on roasted veggies. Comment down below with your favorite dish to spice up!