Culinary Russian Roulette

These are our Pimientos de Padrón, the most delicious little pepper you'll ever sink your teeth into. They are also a form of culinary Russian roulette, one out of every 10 or so are hot, hot, hot but that adds a dash of thrill to the eating.

As the story goes, Franciscan monks brought them to Spain from Mexico in the 18th century. They gained a name for themselves in the town of Padrón in the northwestern province of Galicia. To this day, a festival is held every August in honor of these little green gems in the nearby village of Herbon.

In the U.S. they first started gaining in popularity a few years ago but they are still hard to find. I've had them in Madrid, Buenos Aires (the "landmine" peppers were super hot), the Bay Area and now we grow our own, although not nearly enough.

Calvin Trillin, a writer for Gourmet Magazine has a good column about his quest for Pimientos de Padrón...

I couldn’t quit talking about the peppers. Agustin had given me half a shopping bag full to take home, and I was thinking of who, among the people I know, deserved to share them—assuming, of course, that I didn’t decide to lock the doors and windows, pull down the shades, turn off the telephone, and eat them all myself.

If you come across them on a menu or at a farmers market grab 'em while you can they are only in season July through September. You can also purchase them online from Tienda.