Vegetables · Peppers & chillies

Rocoto pepper

Round, fleshy, very hot Andean chilli with black seeds; stuffed (rocoto relleno) or blended into sauces.

Also called: rocoto, locoto, manzano chile, chile manzano

Around the world: rocoto, locoto (es)

A kind of chilli pepper

2 recipes with it

Photo: Falcodigiada, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

What it is

Rocoto peppers look like small red, yellow or orange apples or bell peppers, but are very hot. They are a different species from most chillies, with thick juicy walls, black seeds and slightly hairy leaves. In Peru they are stuffed with meat and cheese; in Bolivia locoto goes into llajua salsa.

Capsicum pubescens

How it’s used

Rocoto relleno (stuffed and baked)
Blended into uchucuta and llajua sauces
Sliced into ceviche
Pickled

Characteristics

Taste: Fruity and very hot.
Texture: Thick, crisp, juicy walls.
When cooked: Blanching in salted water several times reduces heat before stuffing.
Sold as: fresh, paste, frozen
Cooking uses: Commonly cooked, Usually eaten raw, Mainly a seasoning
Common in: Peruvian, Bolivian, Ecuadorian