Crossword Genius

Spicy food very quietly eaten by eccentric pioneer (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pepperoni

'spicy food' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'very quietly eaten by eccentric pioneer' is the wordplay.
'very quietly' becomes 'pp' (musical abbreviation for pianissimo).
'eaten by' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters get eaten).
'eccentric' is an anagram indicator.
'pioneer' anagrammed gives 'peeroni'.
'pp' placed into 'peeroni' is 'PEPPERONI'.

(Other definitions for pepperoni that I've seen before include "Spicy snacks" , "Seasoned beef/pork sausage" , "something spicy" , "what may be called a banger" , "Spicy Italian sausage" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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