Late summer early fall is the best time for peppers. Though we are well into fall, fresh peppers are still amazing. Shishito or Pardon peppers are mostly mild, but every once in a while a hot one pops in, its bit of a Russian roulette when you eat Shishito peppers you never know when a hot one pops up. Thats no reason not to eat these peppers, they’re naturally smoky and having an amazing flavor when blistered. This batch had a couple of hot ones and lucky me I got both of them. The easiest way to prepare these peppers is to blister them in a bit of oil on a hot skillet then season them with flaky sea salt, lemon zest and I added a bit of chaat masala to kick it up a notch.
Chaat masala if yore not familiar is a piquant, tart spice mix from India used to perk up cut fruit or veggie like sliced mango, guava, corn, cucumber etc. Its also used a lot in street food. Chaat masala has a predominant tart flavor from dried green mango, paprika, ground cumin, rock salt, chili powder and a few or the complimentary spices. It’s totally optional but if you want something new to try a little sprinkle of chaat masala is fun.
BLISTERED SHISHITO PEPPERS WITH CHAAT MASALA
- 12 oz-1 lb Shishito peppers also called Padron peppers, washed and patted dry
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala, optional
- 2 tablespoons any neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- flaky sea salt or fleur de sal as needed, if using chaat masala use carefully as the masala has added rock salt
- In a large skillet warm the oil till its hot.
- Add peppers in a single layer and let cook, undisturbed until peppers begin to blister, about 2 minutes.
- Carefully turn peppers with tongs Cook further for 2-3 more minutes.
- Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with chaat masala, flaky salt and lemon zest.
- Serve right away.
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