Peppers Spice Up Summer Menus

While walking through the on Sunday, I noticed that the wide range of colorful peppers on display has reached an all-time high. Peppers are definitely in season and even though summer is coming to an end, there are still plenty of warm-weather meals that can be made with the variety of peppers available.

Capay Organics posted a chalkboard behind its padrón peppers, with a recipe to enjoy the peppers in their simplest form: Heat a cast iron skillet, add a little olive oil, throw in whole padrón peppers and sauté until blistered and soft. Sprinkle with salt and devour.    

Gloria’s Fruits and Vegetables stand had a cheery assortment of orange, red, green and yellow bell peppers as well as a selection of jalapeños, Anaheims and light green chili peppers.  Bell peppers are commonly used for stuffing with great ingredients like quinoa, sweet corn, tomatoes and cheese, or just about any combination of savory items you care to try. 

Fresno Evergreen wins the prize for more beautiful pepper displays this week, with a pile of purple bells, white wax peppers, slender green chili peppers, pale green shishito peppers and an assortment of red chili peppers.  A friend recently suggested putting several whole shishito peppers on a skewer and grilling them over an open flame until bubbling and slightly blackened.  Seeing this pile of peppers made me want to rush home and try it right away.

Toward Venice Boulevard, J.R. Organics had giant organic red bell peppers close by the register for those last-minute impulse buyers among us. They looked good enough to eat raw or thickly sliced and dipped into hummus.  Across the aisle, John Givens Organics was also featuring bright orange bell peppers with green shoulders and deep red bell peppers that were crimson-tinged.  These would be perfect for a sautéed Garlic and Herb Bell Pepper Strip dish. Just imagine these piled high on an Italian sausage sandwich, or roasted with other seasonal vegetables.

Each year, I grow my own Poblano peppers (which are called Ancho when they are dried) specifically for the purpose of making chile rellenos. I go back and forth between two recipes: Carey’s Authentic Chile Rellenos and Baked Chiles Rellenos with Smoky Tomato Sauce.  One is authentic but is fried and time-consuming; the other is baked and faster. You can choose your level of commitment or combine the two recipes (do the baked peppers with Carey’s sauce) for a great meal. 

For a little more education on different pepper varieties, check out this chart to get you started.

Christy Wilhelmi is well known to many local Mar Vistans as The Gardenerd. Her website and blog at  www.gardenerd.com offers  information on classes, consulting and food-garden design.