The popular porchetta sandwich on the menu at Stevie’s Street Eats – a food truck with a restaurant location at 989 James St., in the Imperial Gardens apartment building – features slow-roasted pork shoulder on a DiLauro’s Bakery roll, with imported speck and sauteed greens. It gets some zip from Hungarian hot peppers.
A recent veal cutlet sandwich on the menu at Attilio’s, an Italian-American restaurant on North Salina Street, crossed cultures to include the Hungarian hot peppers, too.
At The Retreat in Liverpool, Salt City’s Hometown Hungarian Hot Peppers have starred in featured entrees like the Salt City vodka cream: chicken sauteed with the local Hungarian peppers, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes in a smoky tomato cream sauce, served over fettucine.
Salt City Hometown Hungarian Peppers are a blend of locally grown yellow hot wax Hungarian peppers, garlic and fresh basil, packed in brine in 24-ounce jars. They sell for about $6. The peppers are produced by Salt City Canning, a Liverpool-based company launched last year by Jennifer Fiacchi.
“The fall is our busiest season, since we buy all our peppers locally from area farmers,’’ Fiacchi says.
Fiacchi’s peppers are popping up – in addition to at restaurants – in stores all over Central New York, including Nichols, in Liverpool; Nice ‘N Easy stores; Byrne Dairy locations; Vince’s Gourmet Imports, North Syracuse; Lombardi’s Imports; Spera’s Meat Market, in Cicero; Mains; DiLauro’s Bakery, in Syracuse; Green Hills Farms; Liehs & Steigerwald; Ascioti’s Meat Market; Thanos Imports and other locations.
They’re also available online here.
Fans say they use them on pizza, burgers and salads, in calzones, in rice and egg dishes, in Bloody Marys and on the rocks, with a pour of vodka.
Next time you’re craving hot peppers, give the hometown brand a try. Visit Salt City’s Hometown Hungarian Peppers on Facebook here and let Fiacchi know how you like them.
Margaret McCormick is a freelance writer and editor in Syracuse. She blogs about food at eatfirst.typepad.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mmccormickcny