Also known as peperoni di Senise, these pointy red horn-shaped chillies have been grown in Basilicata grown between the rivers of Agri and Sinni, since the 17th century. They are famous for their thin skin and low moisture and are fairly mild when it comes to heat (they are reminiscent of the Basque piments d'Espelette) but are just as essential to Lucanian cuisine.

Harvested in August and dried in the sun, the peppers are usually fried in olive oil until crispy (peperoni cruschi, or pipi arruschkati) and sprinkled on dishes (pasta, potatoes, etc) to give them a warm smoky flavour. Or you can nibble them as they are, whole sprinkled with salt, served with a drink. Or find them ground into powder.

Zafarana

They are also popular in Calabria: in Tortora, Zafarana chilis (known as the saffron or zafferano of the poor) are a close relative of Senise, but with a thinner skin. Traditionally ‘wreaths’ of zafarana are slow baked in the oven with the bread until they are easily ground into a powder called pisata that appears even in some dishes A popular dish is patane cca zaferana pisata (boiled potatoes sprinkled with pisata) and another is lagane strips of pasta and chick peas topped with pisata.

IGP status.