Basilicata · Senise
Pasta con i peperoni cruschi
Pasta with crunchy dried Senise peppers
Homemade pasta with sweet sun-dried peppers flash-fried until they shatter, and fried breadcrumbs.
- Course
- Primo piattoPasta & rice
- Serves
- 4
- Hands-on
- 13 min
- Cooking
- 9 min
- Resting
- 2 min+
La provenienza
Where this recipe comes from
The Peperone di Senise has been a PGI since 1996: a sweet, thin-skinned pepper strung up in garlands to dry in the sun. Fried for a few seconds it becomes ‘crusco’ — crunchy in Lucanian dialect — and it is the signature flavour of Basilicata.
There is no official recipe for the pasta. Lucanian tradition pairs homemade pasta such as strascinati with the crushed peppers and breadcrumbs fried in the same red oil.
- Provenance
- Documented traditionA regional tradition documented in cookbooks and local practice, with no single official text.
- Defined by
- Lucanian tradition
- Reference
- Made with Peperone di Senise PGI
Ingredienti
Ingredients
Equipment
- Small, deep frying pan (about 16 cm), so the oil is deep enough
- Frying thermometer
- Slotted spoon or tongs, and kitchen paper
- Large pot for the pasta
Preparazione
Method
About 30 minutes. Fry the peppers while the pasta water comes to the boil: they take seconds, but you must not look away.
- 13 minhands-on
- 9 mincooking
- 2 minresting, at least
The peppers
-
Hands-on 5 min
Wipe the dried peppers with a damp cloth, cut off the stem with a little of the top, and shake out the seeds.
-
Cooking 4 minTemp 160 °CHeat medium
Heat the olive oil in the small pan to about 160 °C.
-
Hands-on 3 minTemp 160 °C
Fry the peppers one or two at a time, pressing them into the oil, for a few seconds until they swell slightly and turn bright red — never more than half a minute. Lift them out at once onto kitchen paper.
Check Bright scarlet, not brown. They are still pliable when they come out and turn glass-crisp as they cool.
Tip A few seconds too long and they burn and turn bitter: it is better to under-fry.
-
Rest 2 min
Leave the peppers to cool for a couple of minutes, then crumble most of them, keeping one or two whole for the top.
The breadcrumbs and pasta
-
Hands-on 3 minHeat medium
In the same red oil, toast the breadcrumbs over medium heat — with the garlic clove, if using — stirring for 2–3 minutes until golden. Remove the garlic. Keep a few spoonfuls of oil aside for the pasta.
-
Cooking 5–7 min
Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water (about 10 g per litre) until al dente — fresh strascinati take 5–7 minutes, dried pasta the time on the packet minus a minute.
-
Hands-on 2 min
Drain the pasta and toss it with two or three spoonfuls of the red oil and a splash of cooking water. Serve topped with the breadcrumbs and crumbled peppers, a whole pepper on each plate, and grated pecorino or cacioricotta if you like.
Tip Add the peppers at the very end, on the plate: in the hot pasta they lose their crunch.
The essentials, for cooks who know the dish. Switch to Detailed for quantities, temperatures, times and checks at every step.
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Errori comuni
Common mistakes
- Frying the peppers too long: they burn and turn bitter in moments.
Fuori dall'Italia
Cooking it outside Italy
- Dried sweet ‘crusco’ peppers are sold online by Lucanian producers; there is no good substitute.
