Ají amarillo

Ají amarillo (piment jaune du Pérou)

What it is

Peruvians call it yellow although the ripe pod is deep orange; the name describes the colour the sauce turns, not the chilli. It belongs to Capsicum baccatum rather than the annuum species behind almost every other chilli in a European kitchen, and the flower gives it away — baccatum petals carry yellow-green blotches no annuum has.

In the kitchen

The bitterness sits in the skin: boil the pods three times in fresh water, then peel them before blending and the sauce comes out sweet and clean. From the jar, a heaped tablespoon of paste per two portions is the working dose — it behaves like a purée, not like a spice.

Goes with

Potato Lime Chicken Garlic Red onion Cilantro / Coriander Peanut Corn

Same species

Ají panca Ajvar Aleppo pepper Ancho chilli Bell pepper Byadgi chilli

Also used with

Chuño Huacatay (Peruvian black mint) Ulluco

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