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Basque piperade

25 min Cook
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Basque piperade

Basque piperade is a vibrant, flavorful dish from the Basque Country, straddling the border between France and Spain. It’s a simple yet iconic recipe that showcases the region’s love for green peppers, tomatoes, and onions. The dish is often served accompanied with eggs to complement a main course. Sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy, this is a dish with a rustic, chunky texture that we love.

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Basque piperade

Basque piperade

corinthian
Piperade a staple in Basque cuisine, reflecting the region’s agricultural bounty and love for bold, fresh flavors. It can be served as a side dish, a topping for grilled meats or fish, or as a main course with eggs (scrambled or fried on top).
prep time
10 min
cooking time
25 min
servings
2
total time
35 min

Equipment

  • Braising pot

Ingredients

  • 2 large green peppers (the original recipe uses Espelette)

  • 4 ripe tomatoes (or 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes)

  • 1 white onion

  • 1 red chili pepper (or 1/2 teaspoon dried chili pepper)

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 pinch of thyme (fresh, if possible)

  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup (the original recipe uses 1 teaspoon sugar)

  • Fresh parsley (to garnish)

Instructions

1

Prepare the vegetables

Peel the garlic cloves and halve them. Peel the onion and chop it thinly. Rinse well the peppers, core and quarter them, and remove all the seeds. Slice them thinly, along the short side of each quarter. If using fresh tomatoes, rinse them well, chop them, and set them aside in a small bowl.
2

Prepare the base flavours

Add the oil to a braising pot or a large skillet. Heat to medium, add the chili pepper, garlic cloves, and thyme. When they start to release their fragrance, add the onion and stir gently. Cook 1-2 minutes, until they look translucent.
3

Cook the peppers

Add the peppers, season with salt and drizzle with maple syrup. Stir to coat them well and then cover with a lid. Cook to low-medium heat for 20 minutes.
4

Add the tomatoes

Check on the peppers: at this point they should be soft. Stir in the tomatoes, add the paprika, and stir again. Cover with the lid again and turn down the heat to low. Cook for another 5 minutes.
5

Serve

Serve as a side or accompany with fried eggs for a full meal. Garnish with fresh parsley for a touch of freshness. Buen provecho!

Notes

The more you cook the peppers, the better they'll taste. As they don't need attending, you can cook them for longer (30-40 min) over low heat instead.
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