Blistered Padrón Peppers with Olive Oil and Sea Salt

Padrón peppers, pimientos de Padrón, are small, green peppers from Padrón, a municipality in A Coruña, Galicia. Sweet and not vegetal like green bell peppers, most are mild but a surprise pepper or two per handful pack a punch. Thus the popular Galician jingle: os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non, "Padrón peppers, some are spicy and some are not!" None are so spicy as to ruin a dish, and thus the mix of mild and hot add to the character and body of any recipe.

Padrón peppers are served many ways—stuffed with a local cheese is a popular and delicious approach—but the best is the simplest: Fried or sauteed until blistered, and served with a splash of olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt. This is how I like to see them as seasonal specials at my local tapas joints and this is how I cook them at home.

Blistered Padrón Peppers with Olive Oil and Sea Salt

Padrón peppers are available late May through early October, with the ratio of spicy to sweet peppers rising as the year progresses, with barely one in ten spicy in early Summer. I love them later in their season—now—when they offer more hot surprises.

As this dish is all about the ingredients, use the best you can get: real Padrón peppers from Padrón or a local farmer, your favorite olive oil, and fleur de sel.

Makes 2-4 servings, depending on the number of other tapas.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons plus 3 tablespoons your favorite olive oil
1/4 pound (about 25) Padrón peppers
fleur de sel, to taste

Make sure the peppers are well-cleaned and completely dry.

Heat a large frying pan that has a lid over medium heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the peppers to the frying pan. Saute, flipping the pan often, until the peppers are blackened in large spots and starting to blister. Season with fleur de sel. Cover tightly with the lid, remove from heat, and let rest 2 minutes, until blistered, starting to peel, and cooked through.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Taste and add more fleur de sel as needed. Toss. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a serving bowl. Serve and eat immediately, while very hot. Pairs well with a Galician white wine from the Ribeira Sacra DO made from the Albariño grape.

Red Wagon Cocktail

I call this cocktail the Red Wagon, because the crème de cassis gives it a deep reddish hue. This drink is refreshing and crisp but not cloy, perfect for early fall. You might think the cassis would overwhelm the tequila but it does not—both shine through, perfectly balanced.

Crème de cassis is a dark red liqueur flavored by black currants, which are cassis French. The liqueur is sweet, with the overwhelming note of black currants—pure dark fruit, the archetypal note in Cabernet Sauvignon. Real crème de cassis is made in Burgundy and the best, labeled Crème de Cassis de Dijon, comes from Dijon.

Makes 1 drink.

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces (1 jigger shot) tequila blanco, such as Patrón Silver
1/2 ounce (1/2 pony shot) crème de cassis
1/2 ounce (1/2 pony shot) lime juice
1 ounce (1 pony shot) San Pellegrino Limonata
1 lime twist, to garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker with large ice cubes. Add the tequila, crème de cassis, and lime juice to the shaker. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Let rest until the outside of the shaker begins to sweat.

Fill a pilsner glass with large ice cubes. Simultaneously strain in the contents of the cocktail shaker and add the San Pellegrino Limonata. Garnish with a lime twist. Serve.