I ordered a bundle of Kampot pepper from the Pepper Project mid-way through reading about it on one of my favorite food blogs, Blue Kitchen. Who knows, maybe I’ll inspire you to do so, too — or, at the bottom of this post, you can enter to win a package of this prized pepper from me.
Let me explain . . .
First discovered by Chinese explorers in the 12th century, this pepper is cultivated in Cambodia in the province of Kampot. This pepper is highly regarded among food connoisseurs and ranks as the finest gourmet pepper in the world. Kampot pepper, which is a certified organic product, is incredibly aromatic, pungent, bold, bright and delicious.
The Pepper Project is a not-for-profit enterprise devoted to introducing products of Cambodia to the United States, primarily pepper. One hundred percent of the proceeds from sales of these products goes to support fair trade for farmers and to organizations that protect street children, disabled children and victims of sex trafficking. (You can learn more about the Pepper Project here.)
Look how lovely my package of pepper is — with a hand written, personal note, literature about the Pepper Project, recipes, seeds, and the wonderful pepper itself in beautiful hand made bags. You can order Kampot Pepper here, or enter to win a package from me below.
The first dish I made with Kampot pepper was this gorgeous Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna. The flavor of the pepper makes this some of the best Ahi I’ve ever tasted. So if you didn’t realize that using a high quality, freshly ground pepper would make a difference — trust me, it does!
- 4 (4-ounce) Ahi tuna fillets sushi grade
- sea salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons black pepper (preferably Kampot) finely ground
- grape seed oil for the pan
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Place the number of Ahi fillets you're serving on a clean, dry plate or cutting surface. (For a slightly fancier plate presentation, you can slice each fillet into 2 to 3 long, rectangular pieces.)
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Lightly sprinkle all of the sides with sea salt, then either sprinkle or grind black pepper directly onto the top and bottom surfaces of the fillets. The pepper should be a thin, but generous layer.
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Coat a large sauté pan with grapeseed oil and place it over high heat.
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Once the pan is very hot, add the Ahi and sear each side until it's only cooked through about 1/8-inch, 1 minute or less per side. (If you don't hear a sizzling sound when the tuna hits the pan, it's not hot enough -- wait for the sizzle!)
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Remove the pepper seared tuna from the pan and place each piece on a large plate. Once they have cooled a bit, cut them into very thin slices and serve.
This is also just as delicious served cold and is perfect over a salad of greens.
Pepper should be stored in an airtight container, in a cool, dark place. Experts recommend grinding or cracking whole peppercorns right before use.
Love to douse my fried eggs in freshly ground pepper 🙂
delicious, Shannon!
Love to use fresh ground pepper when cooking greens, kale, or fresh veggies.
I use pepper on most everything while I’m cooking. I’m not the best cook so everything needs a bit of flavor! lol
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I normally use peppercorns in mundane ways: I add it when making chicken broth, or when boiling shrimp. But I’d like to try using it it in peppercorn-crusted tuna, or another fish.
I like to use pepper on many things.
Of vourse you would support such a worthwhile organization:) I have to say I have never heard of Kampot pepper, but I love the way they conduct business. I use whole black peppercorn I bring from Serbia, as it is so flavorful, so aromatic and so pungent that I cannot find anything similar in the U.S. But, I would love to try Kapmot pepper:)
BTW, that tuna looks perfect and I want some NOW!
This fish looks amazing! I’m going to try to make it for our family friends this Saturday. Thanks! (Pepper looks great too.)
I would mix this wonderful pepper with toasted sesame seeds and sear it exactly like you did!
Such an interesting idea!! Love your unique recipe’s …… yours is my absolute favorite cooking blog! I follow it religiously..
This is just one of the many things I love about cookingontheweekends.com: who knew of any such thing as Kampot pepper? I can’t wait to try it and the Ahi recipe. I’m marking my calendar on May 17 to come back and order this if I don’t win it.
Pepper steak comes to mind and big, fat juicy heirloom tomatoes with freshly cracked pepper. I have not heard of this product before, but I love to try new products, especially one that I use so frequently.
Sandy
I love everything about this – love trying new gourmet goodies, love the social-consciousness of the company, love Ahi and your delicious recipe, and love pepper! I use it on almost everything and I’m so interested to see how this pepper compares to what I normally use. Thank you!
I love freshly ground black pepper on balsamic-drizzled strawberries. Incredible flavor and a wonderful, gentle heat.
I’ve never tasted kampot pepper, but I’d put it into my muhammara, ohhhh yes!
I usually put black pepper on and in most of my recipes. It helps season the food as I do not use much salt.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I do a lot of Asian cooking, so this would be a great fit.
I’m a big pepper fan but I don’t know this one. GREG
I like to put black pepper on a lot of things; most recently I used it on fresh corn on the cob!
I follow you on twitter; my name is @LydiaInTheHouse.
I love salt and sweet and all kinds of recipes feature salt with chocolate. So, now I really want to try this recipe which I will share on my own face book page,”MB’s Musings and Promotions” where I promote all that I love and share my thoughts on many subjects. Many blessings to you and I can’t wait to win! MB
nothing to interesting – I would likely just use on a salad of lovely spring greens. though I have to say those cookies sound pretty good so I would likely be trying it in them.
already a subscriber to your newsletter.
What a wonderful way to get a bag of pepper! I am ordering today – and I also shared this with my colleague Karna who runs an anti-trafficking organization in Tucson, and teaches a class about worldwide trafficking at the university. Thanks for sharing this, your wonderful photos and a mouth-watering recipe!
Thanks for sharing this with your colleague, David. The folks at the Pepper Project are great, and I know appreciate that we’re spreading the word. And thanks for all of your kind words. 🙂
I use black pepper in everything, because I have high blood pressure, I have to stay away from the salt and pepper jazzes up the taste.
I would use it to make italian chicken and sausage. Delicious!
I put cracked black pepper inside pretty much anything (and now my chocolate chip cookies!!). Thanks for the giveaway!
I love fresh pepper on salad
I put cracked black pepper on steak
I love to add black pepper and Hatch chile to my homemade macaroni and cheese.
I like to put freshly ground black pepper on my gazpacho!
My husband loves putting freshly ground pepper on everything! This looks great.
Black pepper goes in so many Moroccan dishes that my husband and I make! Chicken tagine, zaalouk (eggplant deliciousness), and Moroccan lentils! Yum!!
Pepper is always a great thing and I LOVE the packaging!!!
I use black pepper on just about everything that is not dessert!
Pepper-lime beef is one of my favorites though.
Love the project! Can I put some pepper project pepper on my chicken paprikash? 🙂
Thanks, David! Absolutely. 🙂 xo