Olio Santo – The Spicy Peperoncini Oil Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 oz dried Calabrese peperoncini

• 1 quart (1 l) good quality extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Place the dried pepercini into a food processor and pulse until thoroughly chopped.Alternately: use a sharp knife to chop the dried peperoncini. Wear gloves to limit the risk of a burning eye.

2. Place the chopped peperoncini into a clean & dry glass container with a tight-fitting lid.

3. Add the olive oil, stir to combine, and place the lid on the jar.

4. Once sealed, place the container into a sunny spot, where it will remain for 3 days.

5. Once “cured”, place the jar into a cool, dark place for at least 1 week. (See Notes)

6. Place the Olio Santo into bottles more suitable for serving. You can include some of the peperoncini bits in each jar, if you prefer. (See Notes)

7. Olio Santo will keep for months, although it never lasts that long.

Notes 

I stir the peperoncini in the oil several times while it sits both in the sun and in the dark. Not only will this ensure that all trapped air bubbles are released, I think it gives all the chopped peperoncini equal access to the oil.

I always include some chopped peperoncini in each serving bottle I fill from a batch of Olio Santo.  If you don’t wish to do so, just pass the oil through a mesh strainer as your fill the bottle.

Using a small ladle, I remove any bits and seeds that may float to the surface of my Olio Santo. If allowed to remain, they may block the bottle’s pourer, only to release at a most inopportune time.

Your Olio Santo will keep for 6 months, even longer if you continue to refill it with oil after you fill the serving bottle(s). Once soaked, however, I never allow the chopped peperoncini to be exposed to the air. When the level of oil in the bottle drops that low, either add more oil or toss that batch’s remnants. It’s easy enough to make a fresh batch.

Olio Santo – The Spicy Peperoncini Oil of Italy