My Patch of Padron Peppers
October 6, 2007
I haven’t done an entry for Kalyn’s Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging for a while, and seeing that I’m at a Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives conference at CIA Greystone, I thought veggies would be an apropos focus for the end of the week.
Specifically . . . my fabulous patch of Padron Peppers, which have been a bit scant all summer long but are suddenly producing enough to make a delightful little tapa a couple times a week.
I first came across Padron Peppers at Bar Cesar in Berkeley (in fact, if you check out their web page, you’ll see a photo strikingly similar to mine here). Their Pimientos de Padron were meaty little suckers, seared to blistering in hot olive oil and then dressed with nothing more than a pinch of coarse salt. I was smitten. I was driven to distraction trying to find them . . . at the store, at the farmers’ market. No luck. So I finally resorted to buying seeds (told you I was smitten).
Since then, and it’s been several years now, I’ve coaxed along a decent sized patch of Pimientos de Padron every summer and, as much as I consider myself an adventurous one in the kitchen, I’ve never swerved from preparing them exactly as Bar Cesar does. When you’ve got perfection with your Padron, why bother?
Check out this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging on Cook (Almost) Anything . . . At Least Once . . . Haalo has gorgeous photography, so I’m sure we’re in for a treat!
