The first time I had Padrón peppers, I was not in Spain, but I was at the next-best place for all things Spanish, Bar Cesar. Maggie Pond is the chef there and in addition to being a totally nice, down-to-earth person and an amazing chef, she is an expert on Spanish food. She served us a plate of these peppers, briefly fried and sprinkled with sea salt, and three plates later, we were all marveling. These little peppers are full of flavor, and when combined with some crunchy sea salt they are addictive. Most of them are mild, but occasionally one will be fiery hot, so eating them is somewhat surprising. The important thing, obviously, is to have a cold drink close at hand in case quenching is required. A cold glass of Alberiño would do the job.
When Maggie first served us a plate of these little firecrackers, no one was growing Padrón peppers here. Maggie knew an old Spanish farmer that grew them especially for the restaurant. Over the last few years, these peppers have started to become very popular and I’ve seen them at local farm stands and in CSAs. Imagine my thrill when I saw them in Whole Foods the other day-it looks like Del Cabo is growing them now. Whatever you think about huge, industrial organic farming…I’ll admit I was very happy to see those peppers en masse at the market. I may have done a little jump-up-and-down thing in the produce section.
After I brought the peppers home, I remembered that we are not in frying-things mode right now. Dave and I are (foolishly) participating in a summer shape-up contest that involves 14 people, 3 months and lots of exercise and healthy eating. You may be asking yourself why the hell I thought up such torture and then roped other innocent victims in to suffer with me. The combination of our difficult last year and my love of baking delicious things like this and this, and not observing the very important rule of moderation, have led to a few extra pounds, which are not really bothering me, but they are preventing my boot from fitting into my good jeans, which is unacceptable. So therefore the hellish healthy contest in which we are all eating chicken, fruits, veg and oats and exercising all the freaking time. I digress…the point is that we are not frying things, at all. I thought we might get good results from tossing these peppers in a tiny bit of olive oil and grilling them over a hot fire and then sprinkling with salt. The results? Amazing. I actually think I like this grilled version better than the fried, if such a thing is possible. If you can lay your hands on some Maldon salt, it adds a terrific texture to the dish. Otherwise, any crunchy salt will do. If you can’t find Padrón peppers in your area, you could do a similar dish with Anaheims, or whatever interesting green pepper you have the heat tolerance for. This is a fantastic, light, fun appetizer or snack that is the perfect thing for a hot summer evening.
| Grilled Padron Peppers |
- 1 dry pint Padron Peppers
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- Light the grill.
- Wash the peppers and dry.
- Toss the peppers with the olive oil until well coated.
- Grill over a hot fire until the skins just begin to char–a minute or two on each side depending on your fire. Use tongs to flip the peppers so that all sides are just beginning to char.
- Remove the peppers and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Eat as soon as you can.
Your grilled peppers look awesome. Glad you were excited to find them and enjoyed their special flavor. The Del Cabo farmers have just begun bringing them to market this spring and the Padrons are generating a lot of excitement!
We thank you for including us in your blog and for sharing your enthusiasm for these wonderful peppers. It appears you are a champion of the smaller farm and we thought you’d like to know that Del Cabo is a cooperative of small-scale farmers in Baja, brought together with the goal to help these communities of small family farms prosper and continue to carry on their farming traditions. To learn more about our efforts towards social responsibility and sustainability, and how Jacobs Farm / Del Cabo carries out its mission, please do visit our website. We think you’ll find our story unique!
http://www.delcabo.com/?page=about_del_cabo_story
Thank you for educating me about Del Cabo, and thank you for growing those peppers!
I grew Padrones this year without even knowing what the were! I decided to try grilling them, so I tossed them in olive first, then on the grill they went. I then put them in a bowl with a lid and let them steam. I peeled them, tossed them in best quality olive oil, then a sprinkle of Maldon Salt. Delicious but boy, some were HOT. So now I am wondering, do I need to peel them? I just picked some and will try it out to see which way is best. Thoughts?
I have always had them served un-peeled, whole. Just take them up by the stem and eat the whole thing. The skin is really thin and has never bothered me, personally. I think whichever you prefer is fine but I think when they are served as a tapas they are un-peeled. As for the heat, yes some of them are super hot! They lull you into a false sense of security with lots of mild flavored ones, then surprise you get a really hot one! Which is why cold beer should be nearby, right?
It is really great that you grew them–I’m sure they are extra delicious coming from your own backyard. Yum. Our pepper plants are so tiny this year–maybe because of our cool summer? There are lots of peppers on there but the plants look like they belong in a hobbit garden.