Vegetables - Alan's Cookbook

Pimientos de Padrón
The name merely means “peppers from Padrón”. If you can find
them, these are one of the most delightful party treats ever.
Pimientos de Padrón
Olive oil
Sea salt
These peppers are a special variety hailing from
the town of Padrón, Spain. Delightfully mild and
sweet, with a perfect amount of light heat on the
average, it is well to remember that
• they get hotter as the season progresses
• they get hotter as they sit in the fridge
• they get hotter as they get larger
• about 1%, of them are quite hot, just to keep
you on your toes
• all the rest of them are amazing
A pound of peppers will feed a dozen people, and
satisfy about three.
Bring about 1/4” of oil in a large pan to bubbling
heat. Wash the peppers and dry them with a
towel to prevent splatter. Put enough in the pan
each batch that all the peppers in the pan are
level and touch the oil. Cook over high heat,
turning and stirring them, until the peppers are
all singed, with blisters over much of their surface
and a black spot here and there.
Remove from heat with a slotted spoon to a
paper towel, and start the next batch. Sprinkle
the ones just done with a liberal amount of
coarsely grated sea salt.
To eat them, take one by the stem, bite off the
pepper, and discard the stem.
Cooking time: 10 minutes
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