Pimiento de Padron Peppers Recipes

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Pimiento de Padron Peppers these are mostly not spicy, but once in a while one is. med	Padron Peppers cooked over a fire. (this can easily be done on your stove, too) med

In ourkitchen and in many restaurant kitchens there's one favorite way to prepare these: with a bit oil on high heat in a pan: sear them, stems and all: then sprinkle with a great flaky salt, then eat. You can serve them with a soft cheese at the side for presentations sake, but we just go with the peppers! These are padron peppers: one in several can be spicy.

NOTE on spiciness: it all depends on when they were harvested. Some farms harvest when they are still green but a bit more mature, so many might be spicy. We try to harvest them truly young so that only one in 10 or 20 are spicy... We had one chef compain there weren't enough spicy ones in his padron delivery, he bought some (cheaper) mature padrons and threw a few in so they really would be the Russian Roulette pepper.

What we do with each of these kinds of peppers: Cook over high heat in a bit of oil in a sturdy frying pan on a stove or on a campfire until charred on at least two sides. Then sprinkle with a great salt and eat. We use the stems to hold them. It's that simple!

What we've seen restaurants do to these peppers. See above. then you can serve with a fancy cheese such as burrata or other favorite cheese. Edward of Incanto said they are to be consummed with a 'crisp white'. Wine, of course! We've also seen them roasted inside a wood burning pizza oven, served on top of a pizza...

For those of you new to padrons, cook them this way first. You'll love them, especially with a cold glass of beer.

½ lb padron peppers
olive oil
flaky salt

Wash the padrons and take the time to pick off the dead and browned flower pedals that stay wrapped around the pepper. Allow sufficient time for the peppers to dry on a towel before cooking. Heat a very large skillet over high heat. Add a generous amount of olive oil and when it shimmers add the peppers. Do not add so many peppers that they are overcrowded in the skillet. Do this in two batches if necessary. Stir or shake them around until coated in hot oil, then leave them be while they blister and char on one side (open windows or turn on the hood fan for this - it gets smoky). When the first side has charred (a couple minutes) stir and shake the pan well and sauté the peppers until many of them are charred again on a second side (they all won't char on both sides). Salt them liberally, give another stir and transfer to a serving plate. Serve hot with some cold beer.

Watermelon, Squid and Pepper Salad (Chef Jonathan Miller)

Here's a treatment of either Padron or Shishito peppers that is an adaptation of a dish that used to be served at a restaurant in Santa Cruz called Le Cigar Volante, run by Bonny Doon Vineyard. I think you could also add a little goat yogurt drizzle to this dish to take it to another level.

¼ watermelon
olive oil
1# padron or shishito peppers
1/3 c pine nuts
small handful baby greens
½ # squid, tubes and tentacles

Cut the watermelon rind off the watermelon and slice it into triangles that are ½-inch thick. Heat a grill and oil it. Grill the watermelon slices until colored by smoke and have dark grill marks, flipping to char evenly. Remove from the grill and sprinkle with a flaky salt. Wash and dry the peppers, then remove the dead flower petals from them. Heat a large skillet until very hot and add a little olive oil. Sauté the peppers over high heat. Stir once to coat with oil, then allow to char on the first side. Stir well and char the other side of some of them. Add a little salt just before removing from the heat. Set aside. Toast the pine nuts in the skillet until lightly golden. Watch carefully and stir often so you don't scorch these pricey goodies!

Slice the squid tubes into quarter inch rings and sauté them with the tentacles in a little olive oil and salt. Put the watermelon on a serving plate, sprinkle some baby greens around and drizzle with a little olive oil. Arrange the pine nuts, peppers, and squid around the plate in an artful way and sprinkle with a touch of salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These peppers store well in the fridge in a paper or plastic bag. For at least a week.

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