Pimento Butter

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Mini food processor or mortar and pestle
• •Fine-mesh sieve, about 15 cm wide
• •Sturdy spoon or flexible bowl scraper
• •Low ramekin with a 1-cup capacity

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the capsicum

   Drain the capsicum well, remove every seed and loose scrap of skin, then press it firmly between clean kitchen towels. Weigh 113 g only after this preparation. Water is the likely trouble here: wet capsicum makes the butter weep, while a properly dried pepper gives a stable, concentrated spread.

   Trust the weight rather than the approximate cup measure. The source requires equal weights of capsicum and butter, not equal volumes.
2. 2

   Pound the pimento

   Put the prepared capsicum in a mini food processor and pulse, scraping the bowl often, until it becomes the smoothest paste the machine can make. Keep the pulses short so friction does not heat the purée. A mortar and pestle performs the original pounding perfectly, but the processor removes labor rather than technique.

3. 3

   Add the butter

   Cut the cool, softened butter into four pieces and add them one at a time, pulsing just until each disappears before adding the next. Stop when the mixture is uniform and opaque. If it turns shiny, loose, or oily, the butter has become too warm. Ça se rattrape: scrape it into a bowl, chill it for 10 minutes, then beat firmly with a spoon until it becomes matte and cohesive again.

4. 4

   Pass through sieve

   Set a fine-mesh sieve over a chilled bowl. Working in small portions, rub the butter through with the back of a sturdy spoon or a flexible bowl scraper. Leave the coarse skin and seed fragments behind, then scrape every smooth ribbon from the underside of the sieve. If the butter stiffens and resists, let it stand for 3 minutes before continuing; do not melt it to hurry the work. The sieve is what turns two ingredients into Beurre de Piment.

5. 5

   Set and serve

   Pack the sieved butter into a low ramekin, smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon. Cover directly against the surface and chill for 15 minutes, just until it holds soft ridges. Let it stand for about 10 minutes before serving so it spreads without tearing the toast. Bring it out with thin baguette toasts or crisp raw vegetables. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose plain preserved roasted red capsicum packed in water or mild brine, not a sweet-sour pickle. Drain and blot it with conviction. The classical pantry has always understood preserved ingredients, and a good jar is preferable to a tired fresh pepper.
• •For freshly cooked capsicum, blister a whole red pepper beneath a hot broiler, turning until the skin blackens all over. Cover it until cool, then peel and seed it without rinsing away its juices; dry the flesh thoroughly and weigh 113 g. Allow about 20 additional minutes for cooking and cooling.
• •Use unsalted butter with a clean, sweet flavor. The source adds no salt, acid, herbs, or spice, so none belongs here. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •Serve the butter cool rather than refrigerator-hard. Its sweet capsicum flavor opens as the butter softens, and the sieve-smooth texture becomes properly apparent.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the Beurre de Piment up to 3 days ahead, press parchment or reusable wrap directly against its surface, and keep it chilled. Let it soften for about 10 minutes before serving.
• •For longer keeping, shape the finished butter into a short log, wrap it closely, and freeze it for up to 1 month. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then beat it briefly if any moisture appears at the surface.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 28g)