A pepper can carry more history than its size suggests. For the Riccelli family, an Italian heirloom known as the ‘Ausilio Thin Skin Italian’ has remained tied to family cooking across several generations. The variety came to America with relatives whose roots were in Italy in the early 1900s, and its seeds were eventually passed down through the family rather than replaced with newer varieties. Today, the pepper still appears in recipes connected to that history, including a pork-stuffed dish based on the cooking of Nicholas Domenico “Nick” Riccelli.
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