Roasted & Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
My mom got me a small chile pepper plant for my balcony at the beginning of summer. We didn't know what kind of chiles it would produce but it was certainly producing a ton of them! As the small green peppers began to turn a deep red, I needed to either use them or lose. Having never made my own crushed red pepper flakes, I decided to ply these particular peppers in just such a spicy experiment.
Ingredients
25+ ripe chilis of any variety
Preparation
Cut off the stems and cut the chiles lengthwise. Do not discard the seeds unless you're a weenie. (Don't be a weenie.)
Arrange the split chiles and seeds on a dry baking sheet.
Pre-heat your oven to 175º.
Put the baking sheet in the oven and roast the chiles for 6 hours.
Turn off the oven and leave those bad boys in there overnight to further dehydrate.
Crush the dried chiles into fiery little flakes with a mortar and pestle or pulse them in a blender.
Funnel the magic dust into an empty spice jar.
That's it! Now you have homemade roasted and crushed red pepper flakes! You'll get a little less than a quarter cup from 25 small chiles. Add them to soups, eggs or dry rubs and you're good to go!
Oh, and be sure to thoroughly wash your hands before you touch anything. Like your eyes. Or before you go to the bathroom. Bad news otherwise.













