Shishito peppers are one of the highlights of late summer. While they look like a hot pepper, they are generally pretty sweet -- only about one in ten peppers will be spicy. So eating a plate of these is like a delicious, delicious game of chance, where no matter what, you always win.

When we got a pint of shishitos in our CSA share, we knew exactly what to do with them: blister them. One hot pan and five minutes later, we were ready to eat the entire pint in one fell blow.

I imagine these peppers would also be excellent grilled on the barbecue. Toss your peppers with oil, string them onto soaked skewers, and roast, turning to cook each side, until nicely blistered. Then salt and eat. I haven't tried this, though, so if you do, let me know how it goes! For science!

This method will work with shishito or padrón peppers.

Blistered shishito peppers

grapeseed oil or other cooking oil with high smoke point
shishito peppers
plenty of kosher or sea salt

Put a frying pan wide enough to hold all your peppers in a single layer over medium-high to high heat. Let the pan get hot before you start cooking. Test the temperature with a flick of water, just like you would if you were cooking pancakes; when the water sizzles away immediately, you're ready to go.

Add a generous slug of oil to the pan and let it heat up for a moment. Then add your peppers and toss or stir to coat. Let the peppers cook, stirring or flipping occasionally, until they are blistering and turning golden to dark brown in patches on all sides. This should take about five minutes.

When your peppers are done, remove them to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack and immediately season with a generous amount of salt.

Serve hot. Eat them all. Hooray!


Blistered shishitos are great by themselves, but they also work well as part of an antipasto spread. A hard slicing chorizo or other spicy sausage and a chunk of manchego are the perfect match. Marinated olives would be pretty tasty too. Basically anything you'd get at a tapas bar is a good idea.

And of course you are going to want a glass of cold, cold beer on the side. Hot peppers and icy beer are one of the best possible combinations to eat on a hot afternoon.

What are your favorite late summer snacks?