I had never heard of Shishito peppers until a couple years ago, and then all of a sudden they seemed to be on every trendy restaurant menu. I became quickly obsessed with them, but was not interested in paying $10 for a tiny plate of them. Thankfully Paul started growing them, and his are easily the most flavorful ones I’ve ever had. While I know you can do more with them, I’ve honestly never gotten past giving them a quick blister in a pan and serving them with a simple aioli. They are the perfect, simple summer appetizer or side.
My full share this week was cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, Shishito peppers, lettuce, zucchini, scallions, and tokyo bekana. The tomatoes and lettuce went into BLTs. I made a pizza with a lot of random fridge bits, not too far from this one. Since I already bought bacon, I may make some zucchini carbonara. Scallions went into my absolute favorite eggplant dish, fish-fragrant eggplant.
Blistered Shishitos with Aioli
Serves 4 as an appetizer
- 1/2 lb shishito peppers (this was 2 pints for me)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of kosher salt
- 1 small clove of garlic, grated
- 2 tablespoons full-fat mayo
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Flaky sea salt for serving
Wash and dry the peppers.
In a small bowl add a pinch of kosher salt, the grated garlic, mayo and lemon juice. Stir or whisk to combine.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Drizzle in some oil, then add the peppers and toss. Let the peppers cook for 1-2 minutes, until their skin starts to blacken and blister. Toss so they continue to blacken and blister on the other side for another 1-2 minutes. When each pepper has charred spots on multiple sides, remove from the pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and serve with aioli.
Vegetal Matters 