Recipes {Shishito Peppers + Miso Butter}

Monday, February 16, 2015

You may know that my New Year's Resolution was to try something new every month. While I plan to share more comprehensive recaps each quarter, I have tried to apply the mentality to every day life. When I was at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago I spotted bags of shishito peppers. To be honest, I had only had them once at a restaurant and wasn't overly wild about them. I attribute that more to the preparation than the vegetable. Since the generous bag of long and skinny peppers only cost $1.99 I decided to throw them in the cart and experiment. What was the worst that could happen?

At first, I prepared half of the bag anticipating I would probably need to make something else for lunch. Instead, I absolutely loved them and quickly finished off the bag and experimented with seasonings and ingredients. They can be eaten with chop sticks or picked up by the stem to bite off. Since then, shishito peppers have been a near bi-weekly side dish, or main over rice, for dinner.

This simple dish finds the non-spicy pepper blistered over high heat to develop a crunch crust. Tossed with spicy hot sauce and luscious miso butter, this dish is impressive enough to entertain with or enjoy on the couch for a date with personal time. This recipe also allows for plenty of adjustments and interpretations. The amount of seasonings and oils lie entirely in the hands of the chef. With prep and cook time taking less than 10-minutes just about anyone can handle blistered Shishito Peppers + Miso Butter.

 Shishito Peppers + Miso Butter

1.5 Cups Shishito Peppers

Olive Oil

Hot Sauce

Sea Salt

2 TBS Unsalted Butter

1 TBS Yellow Miso Paste

Tamari {Optional}

In a small bowl, mix together room temperature butter and miso paste until fully incorporated. Rinse and dry off peppers.

In a heavy bottom pan, over medium-high heat bring a drizzle of olive oil to a sizzle. Quickly add peppers and let them sit for 3-4 minutes. You should hear them sizzle and see them starting to pop off off the pan. 

Shake the pan and flip the peppers over. Depending on your skills this can be done with a spatula or pan-shaking talent. Let the peppers sizzle and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Shake hot sauce over peppers and shake to incorporate. Turn off heat and add miso butter. The amount of hot sauce and miso butter is completely dependent on your tastes and desired heat levels.

Remove from heat and transfer to serving dish. Lightly drizzle with tamari or serve with sauce for dipping.