Basque · Iparralde (France) · main

Piperade

Piperade reads umami 6.3, salinity 6.1 and richness 5.7 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Basque · Iparralde (France) main, about 1 hr 11 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.2 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.9 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.2 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.1 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.7 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.3 · Salinity 6.1 · Richness 5.7 · Allium 4.4 · Sweetness 4.3 · Funk & Ferment 3.0 · Sourness 2.1 · Fruity 1.9 · Smoke 1.8 · Warm Spice 1.5 · Earthy 1.1 · Heat 1.0 · Herbaceous 0.9 · Bitterness 0.8

What's in it (13)

• green anglet peppers — 500 g
• onions — 450 g
• tomatoes — 800 g
• garlic — 16 g
• duck fat — 41 g
• piment d'espelette — 10 g
• eggs — 400 g
• bayonne ham — 200 g
• duck fat — 14 g
• salt — 5 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 3 g
• caster sugar — 4 g
• country ham — 320 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 11 min (1 hr 9 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 43.1 kcal, 2.9 g protein, 1.9 g fat, 3.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Piperade is named for piper, the Basque word for pepper, and the vegetable base is the dish; the eggs are what turns it into lunch. Green Anglet peppers are long, thin-walled and mild — the same family the Spanish fry whole — and a thick-walled bell pepper is a poor stand-in because it stays watery and squeaky.
2. Melt the 3 tablespoons of duck fat in a wide heavy pan and cook the onions and peppers together over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. They should slump into softness with no colour at all.
3. Add the garlic and the piment d'Espelette and cook 2 minutes, then the tomatoes, the salt and the sugar if you need it.
4. Now cook it down, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring often as it thickens. It is ready when a spoon drawn across the base of the pan leaves a channel that stays open for a second and no water runs into it. This is the step people cut short, and a wet base means the eggs will weep and the whole thing will sit in a pink puddle.
5. Warm four plates. Fry the ham in the extra duck fat over high heat for 20 seconds a side, no longer — Bayonne ham is a cured raw ham and real cooking makes it dry and salty. Set it aside somewhere warm.
6. Turn the heat under the pepper base to its lowest. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir slowly and constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the base, for 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly underdone and glossy — they carry on setting in the residual heat, and a piperade should be loose and creamy, closer to soft scrambled eggs than to an omelette or a frittata. If it is firm enough to slice, it has gone too far.
8. Spoon it onto the warm plates, drape the ham over, grind pepper on, and serve with hot toast.
9. Substitutions: olive oil can stand in for the duck fat.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Grilled Beef Kebabs with Peppers and Onions — American
• Brunswick Stew with Pulled Pork — Southern
• Spicy Sausage and Tortellini Soup — Italian-American
• Korokke (Potato and Beef Croquettes) — Japanese
• Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie with Lentils — British

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.