calabrian chile

A dab of Trader Joe's Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce turns up the heat on this Caesar-inspired potato salad recipe.

Spicy Caesar Potato Salad

1-lb. bags Trader Joe’s Teeny Tiny Potatoes potatoes

anchovy

garlic clove, finely chopped

mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann’s or Best Foods)

Parmesan

lemon juice

Dijon mustard

Worcestershire sauce

Tbsp. (or more) Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce or other Calabrian chile paste

scallions

black pepper

Nothing says summer quite like a potato salad, and there are enough variations out there to suit every palate. This spin pays homage to a perennial favorite, Caesar salad, applying its supremely likable creamy, garlicky, savory dressing to itty-bitty (or, more accurately, Trader Joe’s Teeny Tiny) potatoes that have been boiled. The dressing gets revved up even further with the addition of spicy, fermented Calabrian chiles in the form of Trader Joe’s Bomba Sauce—just a little dab adds oomph, vibrant color, and a hint of patatas bravas vibes. Start with the small amount of Bomba Sauce recommended in the recipe and dial it up from there if you crave more heat. This potato salad is great slightly warm, at room temperature, or even cold. Serve it on its own, alongside grilled meats, or tossed with some peppery arugula. Just don’t skip the thinly sliced scallions, which provide a fresh brightness against the rich dressing.

Bon Appétit

Place two 1-lb. bags Trader Joe’s Teeny Tiny Potatoes or 2 lb. baby creamer or new potatoes and 3 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large pot of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until potatoes are tender but not falling apart, 11–13 minutes.

Stir together 2 drained oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped, or 1 tsp. anchovy paste, 1 garlic clove, finely chopped, ½ cup mayonnaise (preferably Hellmann’s or Best Foods), ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan, 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 Tbsp. Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce or other Calabrian chile paste, ½ tsp. Dijon mustard, and ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl. Taste dressing and season with salt if needed and add more hot pepper sauce if desired.

Drain potatoes in a colander and let cool in colander in sink 5 minutes.

Meanwhile separate dark green parts from 2 scallions and thinly slice; set a small handful aside for serving. Thinly slice white and pale green parts of scallions and add to remaining dark green parts. Add scallions and potatoes to bowl with dressing and gently toss to combine. Season potato salad with freshly ground black pepper and more salt if needed.

Transfer potato salad to a serving bowl and top with reserved scallion greens.

This light yet earthy sauce lends a generous, almost floral warmth to any white, sturdy fish. For heat, there are crushed Calabrian chiles, smoky and sunny; for a mellow sourness, Moscatel vinegar — feel free to substitute apple cider vinegar and a little sugar to approximate the same fruitiness; and for funk, fermented white pepper (although regular white pepper will work too). Other notes include delicate marjoram, cousin to oregano but less forward, with its comforting contour of balsam, and Timur pepper from Nepal, fragrant and bright, calling to mind a just-peeled tangerine. (If you use Sichuan pepper instead, give it a citrus boost with extra orange juice and a shower of orange zest.) The sauce comes out denser than a vinaigrette but still loose and the orange-red of a young sunset.

Fish With Citrus-Chile Sauce

Timur (Timut) peppercorns (see Tip)

white peppercorns,

Moscatel vinegar (see Tip)

Calabrian chiles (in oil)

marjoram leaves, finely chopped

orange juice

garlic clove, minced

olive oil

Salt

fish

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Make the sauce: Toast the Timur pepper in a dry skillet over medium heat. When the pods are fragrant but not yet darker brown, remove them from the heat and let cool. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, crush into a fine powder, along with the white peppercorns.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, chiles, marjoram, juice, garlic and the freshly ground Timur and white pepper. Let sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to meld, then gradually whisk in the olive oil. Add salt. Taste and add more of whichever seasonings you like, whisking as you go. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week. 

Make the fish: Pat the fish dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. If cooking on the stovetop, coat a skillet with oil and heat over medium-high. (The skillet should be large enough to hold all the fillets with space between them. If it isn’t, work in batches.) Carefully add the fish to the hot oil and pan-fry the fish until browned, about 3 minutes on each side. (Gently probe the fish with a fork; if it flakes, it’s done.) Remove from the heat and transfer to plates.

If grilling, heat a grill to medium-high. Generously brush or rub the fish with olive oil to coat. Place on the hot grill grates, skin side down if there’s skin and cover if using a gas grill. Cook until the fish releases easily from the grate, about 3 minutes. For thinner fillets, the flesh will be just opaque throughout and starting to gape and the fillets don’t need to be flipped. Simply transfer them to plates. For thick fillets or steaks, carefully flip the fish and cook until just opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes more, then transfer to plates. Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve.

The addition of homemade confit garlic—a 20 minute set-it-and-forget-it move—takes this fennel-forward pizza to the next level.

Charred Sun Gold Tomato and Fennel Pizza

garlic cloves,

extra-virgin olive oil;

tomatoes

Kosher salt

fennel bulb, fronds reserved, very thinly sliced

All-Purpose Pizza Dough

fresh mozzarella, torn

Tbsp. thinly sliced drained oil-packed Calabrian chiles

All-purpose flour (for dusting; if

This pizza is a celebration of fennel from Brandon Gray, the chef at Los Angeles pizza pop-up Brandoni Pepperoni. Thinly sliced fresh fennel adorns the pie prebake—along with blistered Sun Gold tomatoes, spicy sliced Calabrian chiles, and creamy fresh mozzarella cheese. Once cooked it’s topped with soft confit garlic, fennel fronds, and fennel pollen for an extra hit of the vegetable’s anise flavor.
Making confit garlic is an extra step that really takes this pizza to the next level. Simply cook a few sliced cloves in enough olive oil to cover over very gentle heat; they’ll lose all their tough bite in about 20 minutes and instead be soft and mellow to the taste. Don’t toss the leftover oil after you fish out the cloves—it’s deeply flavorful and great in salad dressing (or for blistering the tomatoes for this very pizza).

Place 4 large garlic cloves, cut lengthwise into thirds, in a small saucepan; pour in extra-virgin olive oil to cover. Set pan over low heat and cook until garlic is softened and lightly golden, 20–30 minutes. Drain garlic in a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; reserve oil for another use. Set garlic confit aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Cook 1¼ cups Sun Gold or cherry tomatoes, undisturbed, until blistered, about 5 minutes. Season with kosher salt and cook, tossing often, until tomatoes begin to burst and release their juices, about 1 minute. Set aside.

Toss ½ small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, with a drizzle of oil in a small bowl; season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

If using a conventional oven: Heat broiler. Heat 2 tsp. extra-virgin oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium. Using lightly oiled hands, flatten  1 ball All-Purpose Pizza Dough or 12 oz. store-bought pizza dough, room temperature and gently stretch over the backs of your hands to create a 12" round. Transfer to skillet, stretching to edges of pan if needed, and cook until bottom is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to oven and broil until crust is beginning to char in spots, about 2 minutes.

Carefully remove skillet from oven (handle will be hot!). Top pizza with 3 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn, fennel, 3 Tbsp. thinly sliced drained oil-packed Calabrian chiles or ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, and reserved tomatoes; season with salt. Return to oven and continue to broil until cheese is melted and crust is charred in spots, about 1 minute longer.

If using a pizza oven: Preheat to high. Lightly flour your hands and a pizza peel. Working from the center outward, stretch out dough on peel to a 12" round. Top with 3 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn, fennel, 3 Tbsp. thinly sliced drained oil-packed Calabrian chiles or ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, and reserved tomatoes; season with salt. Slide pizza into pizza oven and cook, rotating occasionally, until cheese is melted and crust is charred in spots, 2–3 minutes.

Top pizza with reserved garlic confit. Scatter some fennel fronds over and season with pepper.
Do Ahead: Garlic confit can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

Mornings on the go just got so much better with these Calabrian chile mayo–spiked egg and cheese sandwiches.

Make-Ahead Egg and Cheese Sandwiches

Unsalted butter, room temperature (for pan and muffins)

red onions, thinly sliced

Tbsp. olive oil

Diamond

eggs

jalapeño, finely chopped

heavy cream

pepper

8–12 English muffins, split

mayonnaise

Tbsp. Calabrian chile paste

American cheese

Perfect for assembling ahead and reheating as needed for mornings on the go, most of the work for these egg and cheese sandwiches happens in the oven. Here we lean on sweet, frizzled onions, salty American cheese (or cheddar, if you must), buttered English muffins, and a custardy, quiche-like egg slab for a balanced sandwich with tons of texture and flavor. A very generous splash of heavy cream keeps the eggs velvety, and the Calabrian chile–mayo provides a creamy kick.

Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Grease a 13x9" baking dish with unsalted butter. Line with parchment paper, leaving overhang on long sides; grease parchment with unsalted butter. Place 2 medium red onions, thinly sliced, on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt over, and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer.

Whisk 12 large eggs, 1 jalapeño, finely chopped, ½ cup heavy cream, and remaining 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt in a small bowl to combine; season with freshly ground pepper. Transfer to prepared baking dish.

Place pan with egg mixture on upper rack and baking sheet with onions on lower rack in oven and bake until egg mixture is puffed around the edges and mostly set in the center (it should only jiggle slightly when tapped), 20–25 minutes. Remove egg mixture from oven and let cool. Transfer onions to upper rack and continue to bake until softened and lightly browned around the edges, 10–15 minutes more. Let cool.

While the onions are cooling, heat broiler. Butter cut sides of 8–12 English muffins, split; broil until toasted and golden, about 3 minutes. Let cool. Decrease (or increase) oven temperature to 375°.

Mix ½ cup mayonnaise and 2 Tbsp. Calabrian chile paste or 1–2 Tbsp. sriracha in a small bowl; set aside.

Run an offset spatula around edges of pan to release egg sheet, then remove from pan. Cut egg evenly into 8–12 pieces, depending on the size of your English muffins. To build sandwiches, stack an egg piece, 1 slice American cheese or cheddar, and 1–2 Tbsp. onions on bottom half of each English muffin; close up. Wrap individually in parchment paper.

If not making ahead, place sandwiches on a clean baking sheet; bake until heated through and cheese is melted, 9–12 minutes. (You can also microwave 30–45 seconds or leave unwrapped and heat in a cast-iron skillet over medium, about 2 minutes per side.) Unwrap and spread 1 Tbsp. chile mayo over cut side of top half of each English muffin just before serving.
Do ahead: Sandwiches (without chile mayo) can be made 3 months ahead. Freeze in parchment paper. Bake in a 375° oven, 10–15 minutes, microwave on high in 30-second bursts, 30–60 seconds, or unwrap and heat in a cast-iron skillet over medium, about 3 minutes per side, to warm. Make chile mayo and spread over sandwiches just before serving.

Top 4 calabrian chile recipes from across the web

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Spicy Caesar Potato Salad

Fish With Citrus-Chile Sauce

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Top 4 calabrian chile recipes from across the web

The most viewed calabrian chile recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Spicy Caesar Potato Salad

Fish With Citrus-Chile Sauce

Charred Sun Gold Tomato and Fennel ...

Make-Ahead Egg and Cheese Sandwiche...

The most viewed calabrian chile recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine