Pimientos de Padrón
Galicia's blistered green peppers: Padróns fried hot in olive oil and finished with flaky salt. Nine out of ten mild and sweet; the tenth fiery.
Overview
Padrón peppers wash, dry well. Heavy pan heats over very high heat with a slug of olive oil. Peppers tip in, all at once. Cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing constantly, until the skins blister and char in patches and the peppers slump slightly. Tip onto a serving plate; sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt. Eat hot with fingers.
Ingredients
- 400 g Padrón peppers (or substitute Shishito peppers from a Japanese grocer - almost identical)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt (Maldon or similar)
Method
Stage 1 - Prep
- Rinse the peppers; pat dry thoroughly (water in the pan causes the oil to spit dangerously).
Stage 2 - Heat the pan
- Use a heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal); place over high heat for 2-3 minutes till smoking-hot.
- Add the olive oil; swirl to coat.
Stage 3 - Blister
- Tip all the peppers in at once; they should sizzle aggressively.
- Toss / stir constantly for 3-4 minutes.
- The skins should char and blister in patches; the peppers should soften slightly but not collapse.
- Don't overcook - they should still have a bit of bite.
Stage 4 - Salt and serve
- Tip onto a serving plate.
- Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt - more than you think.
- Eat immediately, holding by the stem, biting from the wide end.
Notes
- Dry the peppers thoroughly: wet peppers cause violent oil spit and don't blister cleanly.
- HOT pan, lots of motion: the pan needs to be smoking hot. Toss constantly so the peppers char without overcooking inside.
- Don't deseed or split: Padrón are eaten whole. The stem is the handle.
- Flaky salt at the end: fine salt dissolves into the oil; flaky sea salt sits on the surface and gives the iconic crunch.
- Shishito is the substitute: Japanese Shishito peppers are botanically similar and behave the same in the pan. Equally good if Padrón aren't available.
Storage
- Eat within 10 minutes of cooking.
- Leftover peppers go limp; the texture is lost.
- The fun is the fresh blister and the salt crunch.
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