Serious Heat: Culinary Russian Roulette with Padron Chiles
Note: On Thursdays, Andrea Lynn, senior editor of Chile Pepper magazine, drops by with some Serious Heat. This week, she joined forces with travel writer Kate Mulcrone to discover the mystery of a Moroccan spice blend.
Photograph from WordRidden on Flickr
With the start of summer, the hunt at the local farmers' markets begin for my seasonal chile addiction--pimientos de Padron. In season from mid-June through September, what makes this crinkly, small green chile pepper originally from Spain so magical? It's playing Russian roulette with your food. While a majority of the chiles are mild, there will be about 1 out of 10 that will deliver a pow to your taste buds. Quickly cooked in olive oil and brushed with sea salt, the chiles are addictive for their sweet mellowness. Then, there's the fun of unexpectedly hitting that spicy chile in the bunch. One popular legend says there are very few spicy ones in June, but by September, almost all of them are harnessed with fire. Calvin Trillin wrote a beautiful essay on his addiction to the chiles in the January '05 issue of Gourmet that gives a glimpse into the padron chile obsession.
The best way to eat them is to savor them in unfussy glory--toss in a pan with olive oil and cook over high heat until blistered, about 3 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt, and devour. Start looking for them in farmers' markets, but don't worry if you can't find them--utilize the beauty of the Internet and order them online from La Tienda.
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8 Comments:
My CSA has been including these in the box for the past month or so. I've eaten pretty much all of them this way so far, and have yet to get one that blisters my mouth or anything close to it. However, I can eat 15 of them in a sitting without any problem.
smackrabbit at 10:27AM on 07/09/09
I LOVE padrones!!! They smell so darn good and are one of my favorite highlights of the summer (besides heirloom tomatoes, of course).
@smackrabbit They get hotter as the season progresses. By October I can barely eat them alone.
darya at 10:30AM on 07/09/09
I ate these for the first time last year, and they were delicious. I split them with a bunch of other people and said I liked that some of them were spicy. They looked at me like I was nuts, now I know why - I must have just gotten lucky (or unlucky, depending on your view of spice).
YancyDC at 11:24AM on 07/09/09
My favorite steakhouse serves this same recipe using Shishito peppers, which is very similar to the padrones, but longer. Most of them are mild, but then you get one that just make your eyes water. Very addictive.
AnnieNT at 11:49AM on 07/09/09
i LOOOOVE these peppers. Ordering!
bitchincamero at 12:08PM on 07/09/09
I love these too!!
This brings back memories of eating plates-full in tapas bars in Madrid with my friends
foodieteen at 3:04PM on 07/09/09
I was just in Barcelona and ate these as tapas every night I was there. I just ordered a pound from La Tienda. Can't wait until they get here!
CharlesGT at 7:41PM on 07/10/09
I was just in Spain, near Padron and these peppers are SO good. I love, love, LOVE them, but I am afraid I won't be able to find ones that compare to the Spanish ones.
lapyles at 1:11PM on 07/11/09