Blistered Shishito Peppers with Roasted Garlic Aioli
I could eat an entire plate of these lightly charred peppers with tangy aioli all by myself. Honestly, these are the best damn things we grow here at the farm and I’m obsessed! In fact, we love these peppers so much that we dedicated an entire 20 by 96 foot greenhouse to growing shishito peppers only.
That’s a lot of peppers! And our baby girl Pepper sure loves cruising down the isles picking her own peppers for this easy snack.
If you’ve never had shishito peppers definitely search for them at your local farmers market. They are an East Asian frying pepper and while they look like a hot pepper they are mild in flavor. They are similar to Padrone peppers and you can use them interchangeably if that’s all you can find.
This recipe could not be easier and if you’ve never made your own aioli don’t be scared. It’s quite easy and once you do this you’ll never buy mayonnaise from the store again. I hope you all enjoy this tasty little treat as much as we do. Happy pepper season everyone!
Blistered Shishito Peppers with Roasted Garlic Aioli
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Serves: 4-6 as a side
Roasted Garlic Aioli- 1 head of garlic
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- fat pinch of salt
- 1 cup light olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 Tablespoons cooking fat (butter, ghee, bacon fat or oil)
- 1 1/2 pounds shishito peppers
- Flakey sea salt
Preparation
- Prepare the aioli by preheating the oven to 425F. Slice about 1/4 inch off the top of the garlic head, exposing the tips of the individual cloves. Remove most of the papery outer layers. Drizzle the top with melted butter and wrap it in aluminum foil. Place in the oven and roast until the garlic is golden brown and tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle squeeze out the individual cloves and mash them into a paste. Set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse the egg yolks, vinegar, mustard roasted garlic paste, and a hefty pinch of salt until combined. With the motor running, slowly (slow is important!) drizzle in the oil a little bit at a time until the mixture is emulsified. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed. You may also use an immersion blender and do the same thing.(see note).
- Prepare the peppers by heating the cooking fat in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the peppers and cook, stirring occasionally until they are lightly charred and blistered on all sides, about 3-5 minutes total. (You can also blister them on a hot outdoor grill, just melt the cooking fat and drizzle it over the peppers before grilling over direct high heat).
- Remove the peppers from the heat and place them on a plate or in a bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with the aioli.
Notes
If the mayonnaise separates after the oil is added, that means that the mixture has broken. To fix this, add an egg yolk and 1 teaspoon lukewarm water to a medium size bowl, and slowly add the broken mayonnaise while whisking constantly. Then, whisk in 1/4 cup more oil.
my local supermarket once sold these in organics but the organic vendor now doesn’t stock these more unusual items. I sure did enjoy them though during the years that those vendors stocked them. They are delicious!!!