Peperoncino is the generic word for dried chilli in Italy. They’re great for throwing in anything to give it a little bit of a zizz. Unlike some of the dried chilli flakes you buy in UK supermarkets, these have a kick; when you flake them up on your hand you can feel the heat.
If I’m making a classic tomato sauce for pasta, I’ll fry off the onions and garlic, then crush in peperoncini, then add the tomatoes so they get that heat through.
In stews, ragus, soups – you can even put them in your salad to add a kick. We make a dish called Sunday-night chicken, to use up anything in the fridge that needs to go. We cut up all the vegetables, joint a chicken, put the pieces on the veg and crumble up a few peperoncini over that, then put it all in the oven.
I buy them dried - whole, tiny ones, in markets over in Italy and bring heaps back. The ones I like come loose, and I just keep them in their paper bags from the market. I quite like that.
Angela Hartnett is the chef-patron of Murano and Cafe Murano; cafemurano.co.uk
