Pili Pili (Spicy Herb Oil)

By Martha Rose Shulman

Pili Pili (Spicy Herb Oil)
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
About 15 minutes, plus at least 1 week's storage
Rating
4(20)
Comments
Read comments

This spicy oil with an African name is popular throughout Provence. It’s usually on the table in pizzerias for drizzling, but it’s also terrific drizzled over vegetables, grilled meats or fish, grains and bread – whatever you want to add a kick to. In France it is made with very hot bird chilies. You could use fresh Thai chilies for this, but I’m using dried chiles de arbol, because that’s what I have on hand and it makes an oil that will last for months.

Featured in: Recipes for Health: Gifts to Savor, Bite by Bite

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:1 to 1.25 cups oil
  • 2teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2bay leaves, crumbled
  • 1teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
  • 4sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2sprigs fresh rosemary (optional)
  • 12whole small dried red chili peppers or Japanese chilies, or about 8 chiles de arbol, broken in half, or 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 1 to 1¼cups olive oil (does not need to be extra virgin), or a combination of olive oil and grapeseed oil, as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2.25 servings)

1069 calories; 110 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 79 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 27 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the herbs, chiles and oil in a medium saucepan and heat slowly over low heat until they begin to sizzle. If you insert a thermometer, the temperature should not go above 220ºF. Turn off the heat and wait for the oil to stop sizzling, then cover and allow to cool.

  2. Step 2

    Transfer the herbs and chiles to a clean, sterilized bottle (you may need to use a funnel to do this neatly). Pour on the olive oil. Close tightly and allow to stand in a dark, cool place for a week to mature.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
20 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

There aren’t any comments yet. Be the first to leave one.
Maeve

Just buy or make Portuguese piri piri sauce and get a nicy, spicy kick!

ea

Is it normal that this is not spicy off the bat but must acquire the heat through time? I just made this and it takes like herbal olive oil but no kick at all. And I tasted the peppers beforehand.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.