Anthony and Carol Boutard’s Ayers Creek Farm near Gaston, Oregon produces food that chefs fight to get. They carefully select seed from the best plants in their crops to ensure constant improvement.
These dried cayenne peppers don’t have the eye-watering chile heat you find in cayenne powder. Toast them in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, then use scissors to remove the stem so you can shake out the seeds. Soak them in hot water for an hour, then blend with some of the soaking water to use in salsa or romesco.