Pass the Salt

Ronaldo’s Pepper Caviar is a new one on me. Green peppercorns, pickled in brine, have been around for a while – I’m old enough to remember dinner parties where we dressed steaks in a creamy green peppercorn sauce. At the time it was a new take on the old pepper steak where the meat was dredged in so much coarsely crushed black pepper it wouldn’t have mattered what you were eating so long as you had a big jug of water to wash it down.

Ronaldo’s are dry-pickled black peppercorns, grown in Sri Lanka by his friend Pani. Black peppercorns are usually picked under-ripe, naturally fermented then dried in the sun. These ones have been lightly crushed, packed into rock salt then probably aged for some time. In Wellington they are repacked into tiny jars and sold with a cute little spoon.

Ronaldo labels his condiment ‘pepper caviar’ on account of the colour and the saltiness of the soft little corns that don’t so much pop, as crunch pleasantly in your mouth. Not that you’d eat them like caviar, but you get the idea.

Ronaldo says Sri Lankan pepercorns have a 15% higher oil content than those grown elsewhere. I’ve no idea if that’s so but they do have a lovely aromatic flavour that goes well with just about anything. I’ve been dropping them on to late season tomatoes dressed with olive oil and balsamic; they are brilliant with buffalo mozzarella and I’d like to try them with strawberries.

Available at markets and delicatessens or buy direct from Ronaldo. $12.80 for a 20g jar, plus freight. Tel 027 476 7043