The Old-School Italian Condiment I Add to Everything

I love a good sandwich. That’s not exactly revelatory but something about warm weather brings up big sandwich cravings for me. Sandwiches are one of those foods that truly are only as good as its ingredients — both their quality as well as how they’re combined. 

As a noted lover of sauce, naturally one of my favorite ingredients to mess around with on a sandwich is the condiments. While I love a good mustard as a sandwich spread, I’m a mayo girl at heart. For a long time, my go-to move to add a little spicy kick to store-bought mayo was a squirt of sriracha. If I was feeling ambitious, maybe a chopped canned chipotle pepper in adobo. That all changed when I discovered my new favorite sandwich upgrade: chopped Calabrian chiles. 

Calabrian chiles are a small red chile pepper grown in the Italian southwest region of Calabria. They’re a staple in the cuisine of the region, prized for their bright and fruity flavor. Different varieties range in shape from round to conical. They’re red when fully ripe, but can range in color from green to yellow. In the U.S. they’re difficult to find fresh and are instead sold jarred or dried as a spice. They’re a great addition to everything from pasta sauce to scrambled eggs.

Oh the time I have wasted swirling hot sauce into mayo like a fool. We’ve written about the wonders of Calabrian chiles before. This warm, tangy, fruity little pepper comes jarred in oil (I prefer the chopped version over whole peppers), perfect for swirling into a scoop of mayo and smearing on a sandwich. Calabrian chiles are spicy, but not too spicy, and their flavor is brighter than your typical hot sauce, lending the whole sandwich a better flavor than a more run-of-the-mill spicy mayo. Because the chiles are chopped and not puréed, they also add a little texture, which is nice.

• Start with less. I don’t adhere to a specific ratio when making my spicy mayo, I just eyeball it. That said, it’s always best to start with less. You can always add more, but you cannot take away. 
• Get creative. The combination of mayo and chiles alone is pretty close to perfect, but other ingredients like minced garlic, finely chopped shallots, or capers also make delicious additions.