Name: Sesame Sautéed Shishito Peppers
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 cups smallish shishito peppers (whole); 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil; coarse salt to taste

These easy blistered shishito peppers will be your new favorite summer snack. The peppers are sautéed in toasted sesame oil for a nutty, sometimes spicy appetizer.

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I gave you a refreshingly cool recipe last time. This one brings the heat! Sometimes. With a heat index several times lower than a jalapeno pepper, shishito peppers are sweet and mild until they aren’t. Yes. They can sometimes surprise you. 1 in every 10-20 shishitos may just make your nose run!

3 Ingredients + 5 minutes = Sesame Sauteed Shishito Peppers - Your new summer snack!

Haven’t tried shishitos yet? I’d had them once before in a restaurant but never at home. This year, I planted a shishito plant in my garden. The plant is doing OK – giving me a few peppers a week. However, last weekend I found some beautiful ones at the farmers market and couldn’t resist taking them home to make these sauteed shishito peppers. I love trying new varieties of produce especially in the summer when there are so many options.

Are shishito peppers hot?

Not usually. Shishito peppers are a mild and sweet pepper but they say that 1 in 10 will be hot and spicy. And unlike hot peppers where the heat hides in the ribs and seeds, you can eat the entire pepper including the seeds without worry.

Tips to make perfect blistered shishito peppers

Select peppers that are about the same size. This will ensure the peppers cook evenly and in about the same amount of time.
Use dry peppers. Once you’ve rinsed the shishitos clean, dry them well with a clean kitchen towel. If you leave water on the peppers, you may invite unwelcome oil spattering because that’s what happens when water hits hot oil.
Don’t crowd the skillet. To get that nice char, leave space between the peppers. This keeps the pan hot and allows the peppers to sear not steam.

Here’s the super simple recipe. Add toasted sesame seeds if you want or a dash of soy sauce instead of the salt. I prefer coarse salt for the occasional burst of salty flavor against the sweet, blistered peppers.

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