Padrón pepper

Piment de Padrón

What it is

Franciscan friars are credited with carrying the seed from Mexico to the monastery at Herbón, in the parish of Padrón, in the seventeenth century. The Galician saying runs that some bite and some do not, and the heat is real capsaicin that builds as the pod matures and as drought stresses the plant, so a late-summer crop bites far more often than a June one.

In the kitchen

Fry them whole in a finger of very hot oil for two minutes, until the skins blister and collapse, then salt with coarse flakes off the heat. Salt added in the pan draws water and they steam instead of blistering.

Goes with

Olive oil Fleur de sel de Guérande Garlic Serrano ham Egg Potato Lemon

Same species

Ají amarillo Ají panca Ajvar Aleppo pepper Ancho chilli Bell pepper

Also used with

Rubia Gallega old-cow beef Secreto ibérico

In season alongside

Water pepper (tade / benitade) Broccoli Chile piquín Cucumber Broad bean Frisée

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