Making Ground Criolla Sella Pepper - Spicin' It Up!

Before the freeze zapped all the peppers, Tricia went out and harvested all of the Criolla Sella Peppers off of the plant.  Criolla Sella peppers come from Bolivia.  They are a chili pepper that is mild in terms of heat, with just the right amount of spice to liven up any dish.  I was introduced to them by a buyer who wanted me to grow them for a restaurant.  I had never heard of them, but grew them excited about the prospects of having a 'cash crop.'

The cash never materialized.  Ha ha.  But I grew the peppers for personal consumption.  The way we determined we liked them best was to dry them and grind them into a chili powder and use it as a seasoning.  It is tedious work, but the dividends pay off, I think.  We've streamlined the process over the years.  First, we lay out the peppers in a dehydrator and turn it on to let them dry for a couple of days.

You know the peppers are done when the peppers are like parchment paper - dry and crinkly.  At this point, we carefully take a pair of scissors and cut them down the middle, scraping the seeds out, trying hard not to make the brittle pepper crumble.

The peppers with all the seeds removed are put into a ninja blender and turned it on.  We shook it while chopping in order to make sure that all the the peppers are ground into powder form.

It doesn't take long.  That is a powerful little blender.  One thing I wish this blog post could convey is fragrance.  I wish I could tell you how good the aroma smells.  Criolla Sella peppers have a "smoky" aroma, I find.

We pour the freshly ground pepper into an older pepper shaker that holds 8 ounces.  The rich color and flavor of the ground pepper complements any dish.

We'll use this to add another layer of flavoring to whatever Tricia cooks up.  Tonight I shook some on top of some homemade duck gumbo    Talk about good!