Fried Padron Peppers

Dear Devon,

It is easy to stumble into a great restaurant in Barcelona. If only the dreaded Euro wasn’t so strong against our pale greenback, it would be a much more enjoyable experience. On the bright side, it inspires me to recreate the amazing plates I’ve tried in restaurants in my own modest kitchen.

On one of those rambling Saturday afternoons, I discovered a small café bordering a partially concealed public square. I grabbed a table by the window and emboldened by my newly won Spanish skills ordered a cortado, steak sandwich, and a plate of fried padrón peppers. The entire meal was delicious but the fried padrón peppers stood out in my mind.

Before Barcelona was even a sparkle in my eye, José Andrés’ PBS show, Made in Spain, was my favorite. (Jacques Pepin’s Fast Food My Way is still my all time favorite, sorry José no one beats J.P.). Andrés’ book was the first book I packed, and along with Anne Willan’s The Country Cooking of France is one of two cookbooks to cross the Atlantic. Made in Spain has been absolutely invaluable to my food explorations. I have used it as a makeshift food guide, selecting my sausages, cheeses, and vegetables based on Andrés' sage advice.

I first encountered the seductive padrón pepper in Andrés’ book. Tucked into the “snacks” section, Andrés tempts the reader with fried padrón pepper stuffed with tetilla cheese, meant to be served for tapas. The peppers are fire roasted in a cast iron pan until the skins are nicely charred and the cheese begins to melt. Dog-eared long ago, this recipe has floated around in my head for months.

Native to Galicia in northwestern Spain, the padrón pepper is the perfect size for a quick snack. The bite-sized peppers are lightly fried in olive oil and sprinkled with a generous pinch of sea salt. Padrón peppers don’t have the spiciness of jalapeños. That being said, they aren’t without heat. Every so often an intensely spicy one will send me running for a glass of milk. These gems hide among their sweet, juicy compatriots: There’s no way to tell until you bite into them. A plate of these succulent peppers is always a gamble- but what’s life without a little bit of danger?


Fried Padrón Peppers

1/2 lb Padrón peppers
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt

Line stove top and adjacent walls with old newspaper. Be careful, this is a bit of a fire hazard, but it saves immensely on clean up. Over a high flame, heat olive oil until smoking point. Pick through the peppers removing any that have wrinkled skins or dark greenish-black blemishes. Carefully wash and dry padrón peppers, trimming stems that are longer than 1 inch. Gently slide peppers into the hot oil. Cook over high heat until all sides are nicely charred and brown. Remove to an awaiting bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt. Serve with a small dish for discarded stems. Like all fried foods, these peppers are best eaten hot.

Note: Andrés suggests using jalapeno peppers if padrón peppers cannot be easily found. After having tried this, I would suggest seeking out padróns. Sometimes, substitutions are not an option. Let me just say that eating jalapeños in place of padróns can be very painful, and have some unusual effects on your digestive system.