This past weekend at NYC's Union Square farmers' market, peppers were in abundance. They've absorbed all of summer's heat and are in prime season. And I noticed shishito peppers, the small, mild green peppers frequently served in Japanese restaurants, popped up at several stands. Do you cook with shishito peppers?
Several farmers offered different sized shishito peppers this past Saturday: some bigger than my thumb and others smaller than my pinky finger. I love searing these mild peppers in a cast iron pan with a touch of oil, until their skins are blistered and slightly blackened. Then, they're ideal eaten hot, sprinkled with sea salt (and flavored sea salt works even better!).
How do you prepare shishito peppers?
Related: Appetizer Trend: Grilled Shishito Peppers
(Images: Stephanie Barlow)
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
TW Salt Mill by Wil...
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Shishito are great, I grow them on my veranda. Grilled on skewers, tenpura fried, pan fried, in curry, just about any way.
Shishito peppers are first cousins to -- and excellent substitutes for -- the peppers used for "pimientos al padron" in Spain. Either may be cooked as described above, and a simply delicious. But be warned that every now and again you will get a pepper that is especially hot and spicey -- much more so that the average.
Grilled and served with a dribble of soy or as tempura served with cold soba! So good
Let me tell you: De-seed and slice them in to 1- to 2-inch pieces. Pan fry them in olive oil over medium heat until they soften a little. Dip in a combination of smoked sweet paprika and kosher salt. I eat this as a tapas every day spicy green peppers are in season!