Look! Pimento Peppers

At the farmer's market in San Rafael a few weeks ago, I was delighted to make an unique discovery. These might look like red bell peppers at first glance, but look closely at the bottoms; they're pointy, giving the pepper a heart shape. These are pimento peppers.

Yes, these are the same peppers that are used to stuff olives with. It's not common to find them in raw form in the US, but the seeds are readily available through garden catalogs if you'd like to grow your own. Pimentos are sweeter than bell peppers. Some varieties of pimentos are hot. They're enjoyed raw, pickled, roasted, and stuffed.

(Image: Kathryn Hill)

Comments (5)

And in cheese! I would have so made a huge batch of pimento cheese had I found these at my farmer's market.

posted by maddhatter on November 17th 2009 at 3:36pm
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cut off the top and remove seeds and membrane.
fill w manchego cheese and fry in a bit of oil until cheese melts -yum !!

Trader Joes is selling them as piquillos at an excellent price

posted by dasmueller on November 17th 2009 at 4:48pm
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I live in Idaho, which has a thriving Basque population. We love pimentos around here!

posted by repressd on November 17th 2009 at 5:51pm
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dasmueller, than sounds sooooo good! I will definitely try that. Thx.

posted by Wishin' I was in MIA on November 17th 2009 at 5:56pm
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Wishin' , I neglected to mentioned that the TJ peppers are roasted so they are already nice and soft. I wonder what it would be like w a fresh pepper ?

posted by dasmueller on November 17th 2009 at 6:12pm
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