It's said that eating Padrón peppers is like a game of Russian roulette - you never know if the next one will be the hot one. It's been a couple of years since I last posted about them and interestingly enough, they were the subject of a WHB posting and that time I made what is probably the easiest and most classic tapas dish - fried Padrón peppers.
This time I'm probably making the other "typical" dish - cheese stuffed Padrón peppers. Now the authentic versions will use something like Tetilla (a Galician cows milk cheese) with recommended substitutes of Monterey Jack and Fontina but I've taken a slightly different track and used provolone.
Cheese Stuffed Padrón Peppers
Padrón Peppers
Provolone cheese
olive oil
sea salt
Wash and completely dry the peppers. Make a slit in one side of the pepper being careful not to cut all the way through. Depending on the pepper, some will have more seeds than others - you can leave them in or take them out, it really is up to you.
Cut a piece of provolone that is big enough to fit inside the slit and fill the pepper. Press the pepper to seal the slit. Repeat the process until all the peppers are stuffed.
Pour a spoonful of olive oil in a non-stick pan and place over a medium heat. Once the oil has heated, carefully ease in the stuffed peppers, slit side up. It's important the peppers are dry to cut down on the spitting. Give them quarter turns to slightly char the outside and soften the pepper - some of the cheese may melt, that is fine.
Once cooked, remove from the pan and rest briefly on paper towels before placing on a serving dish. Finish off with a sprinkle of sea salt.
You can enjoy these hot or cold.
Love the look of this... so beautifully charred, and that oozing cheese!
ReplyDeleteThansk Leaf!
DeleteSomething I'd definitely love to try!
ReplyDeleteI'll get some ready just for you!
DeleteThank you , Haalo, for this nice recipe.
ReplyDeleteWe have a very similar pepper in Italy, but sweet, called Friggitelli, and cooking procedure is the same, omitting cheese. They are very common in Central/South regions. In Calabria they are used to fry peppers, then set aside, fry potatoes, then combine the two and serve, it's a typical dish called "pipi e patate".
Oh yum, potatoes and peppers, that sounds so good. That's going on my "must eat" list.
DeleteThis looks very yummy. keen to try it out!
ReplyDelete