John "Doc" Willoughby

Espelette pepper’s mild heat and subtle fruitiness make it an excellent companion to chocolate. Chefs in the Basque region of France tend to use it in chocolate mousse or layer cakes, but here I add it to an easy cocoa drop cookie, based on a recipe by Sally Sampson of Chop Chop magazine. Note that the butter and the eggs both need to be at room temperature, so don’t forget to set them out at least half an hour before you want to start mixing.

This Basque mixture of peppers, onions, and tomatoes flavored with piment d’Espelette is the basis for the chicken dish known as Poulet Basque as well as for Eggs Piperade. But it’s also great as a relish served alongside pork, lamb, or any mild fish. It’s even good just scooped up on a cracker.

While it’s not essential to rotate the boniatos as they cook, it does ensure that they cook evenly. When testing for doneness, poke all the way through to the middle to be sure there are no undercooked pockets hiding in there.

Boniatos often weigh as much as a full pound each. These large ones are fine in this recipe, but you’ll only need two. You might want to make a double recipe of the mojo while you’re at it, since it keeps forever in the refrigerator and tastes good on just about anything.

I found this recipe written in pencil on a 3 x 5 card tucked inside my Grandmother Schwyhart's old, worn cookbook. The apples are particularly nice in this dish; they puff up as they cook, and they really soak up the other flavors.