You’ll Never Order This in a Restaurant Ever Again: Blistered Shishito Pepper Edition
It’s not that they’re not a delicious thing to order at a restaurant, but the thing is, once you figure out how insanely easy it is to make this dreamy, healthy, salty, snacky, [insert gushing superlative here] appetizer at home, it’ll be hard to convince yourself to shell out restaurant cash for a little plate of these peppers. They’re just too easy! And too great to be reserved for times when you’re dining out. Once we got the hang of them, we were blistering shishito peppers at least once a week (and sometimes more often) all season long. Sprinkled with flakey salt, we truly cannot think of a better starter than these savory shishito peppers.
OK, But What Are Shishito Peppers?
Shishito peppers are small, bright green, somewhat wrinkled-looking peppers in the capsicum annuum family. Most of the peppers are very mildly spicy and even a bit sweet, but occasionally you’ll come across one that’s got some serious kick. Basically this shishito pepper recipe results in a really fun game of snack roulette, meaning that every now and then, someone will eat a hot pepper! It is said that roughly one in ten peppers are hot, but we’ve found a ton of variance—occasionally we’ll get a batch that’s almost entirely mild, and sometimes the breakdown is almost 50/50 spicy/mild. So, consider yourself warned! If someone at your table—kiddos, we’re looking at you—isn’t into spicy heat, make sure to warn them away from the peppers, or at least take a small bite of one first to check for spiciness. Shishitos are very similar to padrón peppers—which can be prepared in this way, too, btw!
How To Cook Shishito Peppers
When we say “blistered shishito peppers” we do mean blistered! Cooked quickly at high heat, these peppers are as fast as they are delicious. Here’s how to make them:
- Heat oil over a high heat until it smokes.
- Carefully put the peppers in the pan, careful not to overcrowd them. You may want to work in batches, depending on the size of your pan.
- Turn the peppers after a few minutes, and finish cooking them. It should take just about four or five minutes total to cook the peppers. They’ll look blistered and wilted when they’re done.
- Salt them generously and finish them with a bit of lemon zest.
- Gobble! As soon as you can eat them without burning your mouth, eat them up!
Tools You’ll Need:
Green & Munchy
More snacky green things to nibble on. Just add drinks and call it a party!
Tapas Party At Your Place!
If you try these, let us know! We’d love to know how this shishito pepper recipe worked for you. Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
