by Megan Winfrey

This week's focus is on a particular pepper, one that I believe has the absolute best flavor of any other pepper I've tried. You may have noticed an influx of these lime green fellas on local restaurant menus in the last several years and I, for one, am glad they haven't faded away like so many other food trends. I first tried shishito peppers in 2011, while managing at Jeffrey's Restaurant (original ownership). They were served as a starter, blistered, with a dusting of Himalayan sea salt - and they were utter perfection. I ordered them every night while they were on the menu at Jeffrey's, and to this day will never pass them up when dining out. Thankfully, JBG offers these tasty treats every summer, and I've got the three ingredient recipe.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

• Whole Shishito peppers, as many as you can find!
• Good quality olive oil
• Pink Himalayan sea salt, preferably fresh cracked

 

Add 1-2 tbs. of olive oil to a heavy bottomed skillet and heat to medium-high. Once the oil begins to ripple, add the shishito peppers. Toss sporadically. They won't take long to blister, no longer than 5 minutes. They are best when you can see black char marks, but the green color is still bright and vivid. When the green starts to brown, they are becoming overdone and the flavor isn't as amazing.

When they are blistered but still vibrant, remove from the heat and transfer to a plate. Lightly crack sea salt over the peppers, give them a quick toss, and serve immediately. I like to eat every bit from the stem down!

The story goes that 1 in every 10 peppers packs a kick, but I think it depends more on how much rain we've had and the size of the peppers. I'm pretty sensitive to spicy foods and haven't been knocked out by any of them, although I do tend to avoid the red ones. Enjoy!