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You are here: Home / Cooking Times / a) 30 mins or less / Pimientos de Padrón

Pimientos de Padrón

6th March 2019 - By Michelle Minnaar
This post may contain affiliate links.

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This simple yet fantastic tapas classic is a must if you like rustic Spanish cuisine. Pimientos de Padron is sure to be found on the menu on just about every single tapas bar.

A plate of green Pimientos de Padrón

However, it is actually very simple to make, so if you are longing for a bit of holiday atmosphere at home, pimientos de Padron is an effective shortcut.

You can serve pimientos de Padron as part of a bigger tapas buffet or as a delicious, savoury snack. The perfect thing to enjoy with guests over a glass of wine.

If you are looking for some inspiration for your next dinner party, think about pimientos de Padron.

what are pimientos de Padron?

This particular type of pepper, or pimiento in Spanish, takes its name from the Spanish Town of Padrón, located in the Coruna province in the northwest corner of Spain, where the locals have been growing these little peppers for ages.

Over time the cultivation has spread to southern Spain as well, and they are widely grown in Mexico and some southern American states, too.

Actually, it is believed that Franciscan monks brought the peppers back to Spain from the new world in the 16th century.

A fun fact about  pimientos de Padron is that it is a game of chance if a pepper is hot or mild! Most of them are mild in taste, with a slight savoury bitterness to them.

However approximately one out of every ten is rather hot and spicy. This means that eating a dish of pimientos de Padron becomes a sort of Russian roulette.

Green Peppers on a counter

pimientos de Padron – where to buy

Through the ever-increasing popularity of these delicious peppers, they are actually not that hard to come by, though you might not stumble upon them in the local corner shop or the discount stores.

Look in well assorted supermarkets or greengrocers or Spanish delicacy stores and you should have a good chance of finding them.

Padron peppers are normally harvested quite early in the season, as early as mid-May in fact. At this point, the peppers are still quite small, usually no more than four to six centimetres.

This however does not mean that you can only get Padron peppers in a short period of time. Fortunately, the peppers are nowadays grown mostly in greenhouses, meaning they are available all year round.

A close up of green peppers

what to serve with pimientos de Padron

The traditional way to serve pimientos de Padron is to serve them hot from the frying pan, sprinkled with salt flakes. Drizzle with a few drops of good quality olive oil and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley for the final touch.

In this way pimientos de Padron sums up the beauty of Mediterranean cooking – simple, good quality ingredients prepared well. Above all, make sure to have some fresh bread to serve on the side.

how to cook pimientos de Padron

This is probably one of the most simple tapas recipes you can find. All you need to do is to wash Padron peppers and heat up a pan with oil.

Then simply fry the peppers whole in the hot oil until the skin reaches a nice golden brown colour with a crinkled surface. Do not despair if some of them end up slightly darker.

With a good pinch of sea salt they will still taste amazing. If you end up cooking too big a batch, the peppers can easily be stored in the fridge for a couple of days.

Green peppers in a strainer and washed

pimientos de Padron recipe

Even though it is not traditional to serve pimientos de Padron with a dipping sauce, it doesn’t mean it is not a good idea! For example you can whip up a homemade aioli to go with it.

An aioli is basically a garlic-flavoured mayonnaise that you can easily make yourself. If you have not tried making your own mayonnaise before, have a look at my avocado oil mayo recipe for guidance.

Once you master the art of making your own mayonnaise you can start experimenting with all sorts of flavours. You could make a chilli mayo, or flavour it with smoked paprika for a more BBQ-style flavour.

For a greener alternative try this delicious Spanish herbal pesto, mojo verde.

Sauteed Pimientos de Padrón

Padron peppers tapas

Though it might sound complicated and like a lot of work, most tapas dishes are actually quite simple to prepare.

If you are planning to have guests over any time soon, why not bring some Mediterranean flair to the table by making your own tapas.

Needless to say these pimientos de Padron are a must for a good tapas buffet. Another idea for a good tapas table could be my roasted artichoke hearts.

Of course no tapas buffet would be complete without patatas bravas. If you have not yet tried to make your own, it’s easier than you think!

With these basics you are well on your way to having a fantastic tapas buffet. All you need now is some serrano ham, some manchego cheese, some olives and of course some lovely fresh bread.

A close up of charred Pimientos de Padrón

drinks to go with tapas

The Spanish often drink dry sherry with their tapas. You might think of sherry as some dusty bottle from the back of granny’s front room cupboard.

However, sherry, in Spanish Jerez, is a much more complex wine to buy than you might think, so here it is good to team up with your local wine shop.

A cheap bottle from the lower shelves in the supermarket will not do good tapas the justice it deserves. If sherry is not to your taste or you find it has too much alcohol for a meal, choose a white wine of your liking instead.

It can be a dry wine with mineral notes or a fruitier one, depending on what you like.

Alternatively, you can serve your tapas with a refreshing homemade lemonade. This will also help you cool down if you happen to get one of the spicy pimientos de Padron! Enjoy this healthy tapas recipe!

More complementary side dishes

  • parmentier potatoes
  • tobacco onions
  • roast marrow
  • rosemary potatoes
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Pimientos de Padrón


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Michelle Minnaar
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
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Ingredients

  • 225g (½ lb) padron peppers, washed
  • 30ml (2 tbsp) vegetable oil
  • 2.5ml (½ tsp) coarse sea salt

Instructions

  1. Wash the peppers in cold water and pat them dry. Keep them intact.
  2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy based frying pan.
  3. Place the peppers in a single layer. Cook it in batches if you need to.
  4. Fry for 5 minutes or until their skins start browning.
  5. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with a sprinkling of salt.

  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Spanish

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 72
  • Sugar: 1.4 g
  • Sodium: 246 mg
  • Fat: 7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 2.6 g
  • Fiber: 1 g

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kim Neville says

    9th January 2018 at 10:23 am

    I like Roasted vegetable salad

    Reply
    • michelle says

      9th January 2018 at 9:13 pm

      If you love roasted vegetables – you should try my roasted Jerusalem artichoke recipe. I think it would make a great addition to your salad 🙂

      Reply
  2. Jane Willis says

    9th January 2018 at 11:57 am

    I like peppers lightly cooked so they are soft at the edges and crunchy in the middle, so I enjoy them in stir fries but most of all on a lamb, onion and pepper kebab where they go sweet and black at the edges while still crisp in the middle

    Reply
    • michelle says

      9th January 2018 at 9:14 pm

      Sounds delicious. You just made me super hungry Jane :)))

      Reply
  3. darren longthorne says

    9th January 2018 at 3:32 pm

    love the sound of hot pepper sauce

    Reply
    • michelle says

      9th January 2018 at 9:15 pm

      give it a go. It’s really delicious

      Reply
  4. Hazel Rea says

    9th January 2018 at 8:49 pm

    I like peppers in mixed roast vegetables or stir fries, also stuffed with quinoa etc., but roasted mixed with other vegetables is probably my favourite.

    Reply
    • michelle says

      9th January 2018 at 9:18 pm

      I adore quinoa!!! Sounds amazing

      Reply
  5. Hayley F says

    9th January 2018 at 9:19 pm

    Red pepper soup x

    Reply
    • michelle says

      10th January 2018 at 9:13 pm

      yum!

      Reply
  6. laura banks says

    10th January 2018 at 8:34 pm

    roasted pepper soup

    Reply
  7. Solange says

    10th January 2018 at 10:14 pm

    Creamy red pepper soup.

    Reply
    • michelle says

      11th January 2018 at 2:53 pm

      sounds lovely

      Reply
  8. melanie stirling says

    11th January 2018 at 12:39 am

    Red pepper and tomato soup is my favourite and is delicious.

    Reply
    • michelle says

      11th January 2018 at 2:54 pm

      agreed 😉

      Reply
  9. sam macaree says

    12th January 2018 at 5:50 pm

    i like them in omelettes

    Reply
    • michelle says

      14th January 2018 at 11:20 am

      me too

      Reply
  10. pete c says

    14th January 2018 at 3:07 pm

    baked peppers with rice in

    Reply
    • michelle says

      14th January 2018 at 8:49 pm

      I love this too

      Reply
  11. sharon martin says

    30th January 2018 at 4:36 pm

    a tomato and pepper soup

    Reply
    • michelle says

      31st January 2018 at 8:55 pm

      interesting combination. I should can imagine making an Italian cold starter soup out of this.. thanks for the inspiration 🙂

      Reply
  12. Suzanne says

    27th April 2018 at 2:19 pm

    Sounds spicy!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • michelle says

      28th April 2018 at 10:07 am

      it’s not, only 1 out of 10 peppers are usually spicy

      Reply

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