It is Shishito Season and you need to be eating this delightful pepper. If you aren’t familiar with this pepper, we see them here in the Midwest in the late Summer months. These peppers have a slightly sweet flavor with a hint of smokiness. Only 1 in 10 are actually hot and spicy, the rest have spice to them but not a heat. They make a great snack food and pair well with your favorite Summer Wines. The entire pepper is completely edible except for the stem.
To make this appetizer here is what you will need:
- 1lb of Shishito Peppers
- 2 T of Olive Oil
- 1 Toothpick
- 1/3 C of Mayo
- 1 T of Sweet Paprika
- 1 Lemon
- 1 t of Garlic Powder
- Sea Salt to Taste
To start
- Wash your peppers well and make sure they are dried completely on a paper towel.
- Take you toothpick and poke a small hole in each of the peppers somewhere in the middle of the pepper. This is to prevent them from popping when you blister them.
- Heat a skillet until it is very hot but not smoking and add your olive oil.
- Toss the peppers into the skillet and using tongs continuously turn the peppers until all sides of the peppers are blistered. You will be able to see the skin bubbling up. It is ok to see some char marks on some of the peppers.
- Transfer to a platter and squeeze half a lemon over the peppers and a toss of some sea salt.
To make the Aioli:
- Combine the mayo, paprika, garlic powder and juice from half a lemon in a bowl and combine well.
To Eat:
- Dip the peppers in the aioli and you can eat the whole pepper, except for the stem.
I call this pepper the popcorn of peppers because you can’t eat just one. Once you try this there is no turning back. Enjoy!
For another great summer recipe, check out my recipe for Dressed Up Hot Dogs
