Ingredients
Paste
- 1 kghot red paprika peppers
- 120 gsalt
- 1 tspground caraway, optional
Equipment
- gloves
- sterilised jars
Directions
- Wear gloves. A kilo of hot chillies will burn your hands for hours afterwards and the oil transfers to everything you touch, including your eyes.
- Wash and dry the peppers and remove the stalks, keeping or discarding the seeds depending on how hot you want it.
- Mince the peppers coarsely in a processor or through a mincer, keeping it visibly coarse rather than letting it become a purée.
- Weigh the minced pepper and add salt at 12 per cent of that weight.
- Use the full quantity of salt. This is a salt preserve rather than a fermented paste, the salt is doing the preserving work, and cutting it back because it looks like a lot is exactly how a jar spoils.
- Mix thoroughly, let it stand for an hour, then mix again.
- Pack it into sterilised jars, pressing down firmly to drive out every air pocket.
- Level the surface and pour a thin layer of oil over the top if you like, which seals it further.
- Seal the jars and refrigerate them from the start, and use within a few months.
- Spoon it into goulash, bean soup, lecsó or paprikás, adding it towards the end so the heat stays sharp rather than cooking away.
Technique
- It is a Szeged-region preserve, sold nationally since the 1980s, and the jar in the door of a Hungarian fridge is very often this one.
- It is a seasoning rather than a sauce. A teaspoon does a great deal of work in a pot of stew.
- Erős means strong, and Pista is a diminutive of István. The name is a joke about a fierce old man.
Substitutions
- Any hot red chilli, though Hungarian paprika peppers have a particular fruitiness.
- Édes Anna, the sweet version, made the same way with mild peppers.
Variations
- With garlic minced in, which some households add.
- Milder, with half hot and half sweet peppers.
- With a spoonful of tomato paste for colour and body.
History
A Szeged-region preserve of minced chillies kept under salt, sold nationally since the 1980s.
Frequently asked questions
What is Eros Pista?
Eros Pista is a sauce & condiment from Hungary: coarse salted paste of hot paprika, spooned into soups and stews. A Szeged-region preserve of minced chillies kept under salt, sold nationally since the 1980s.
How long does Eros Pista take to make?
Eros Pista takes 45 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 kg. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Eros Pista?
Yes, within limits. Any hot red chilli, though Hungarian paprika peppers have a particular fruitiness. Édes Anna, the sweet version, made the same way with mild peppers.
What is the most important thing to get right in Eros Pista?
Mince the peppers coarsely in a processor or through a mincer, keeping it visibly coarse rather than letting it become a purée.
