Blistered shishitos are an easy little appetizer, side or snack. These peppers are seasoned with toasted garlic, piñon (pine nuts) and Pecorino Romano.
A few years ago we were introduced to the shishito pepper by a local grower. She told me how to blister them with a quick pan fry in a small amount of oil and season with sea salt. After the first batch Bobby and I were hooked. They aren’t spicy peppers and not really that meaty, but they have a simple flavor allowing for a variety of complementary seasoning. With the first few batches, I played around with different flavored sea salts and couldn’t find one that didn’t work.
The year after being introduced to shishitos, we added a couple of plants to our garden and have been growing them every year since. Each plant has been extremely prolific, so much so that two plants are enough for the two of us. Once they start producing, I pick at least five peppers a day and they continue producing until the first frost. Because of all of these peppers, I have been experimenting quite a bit and this blistered shishitos with garlic and piñon recipe is one highly successful experiments.
This recipe take no more than 15 minutes to make and about 3 minutes to eat. Sometimes I just throw a batch together for an afternoon snack, but they also make a tasty complement to just about any meat entrée, a unique side for a vegetarian meal and a blow your guests away appetizer. Hope you enjoy!
Shishito Peppers with Garlic, Piñon and Cheese
A quick & easy side dish for a meat entrée or a vegetable for a vegetarian meal. We use it as one of the items on a salad plate.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information and related links (if applicable).
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 12 shishito peppers
- sea salt
- 1 Tbsp. diced piñon* (pine nuts)
- 1 large clove garlic*, minced
- 2 Tbsp. finely grated Pecorino Romano
Prep your ingredients first because this process moves pretty fast.
In a skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. (I use a cast iron.)
When hot, add the shishito peppers. (Warning: The oil can tend to splatter if it's too hot.)
Blister* one side of the peppers, turn and blister the other side. This takes about 4 minutes.
- Transfer the peppers to a plate and dust with a little sea salt.
To the hot pan, add the garlic and diced piñon. Reduce the heat to low and stir until the garlic and nuts just start to brown.
Add the grated romano and heat for about 10 seconds.
Remove from heat and let rest in the skillet until the cheese has melted, gotten crispy and is lightly toasted.
Break up the cheese, garlic and nut mixture into small pieces and spread the mixture on top of the shishitos.
Serve within about 30 minutes of finishing. You want the peppers at least warm, but they don't have to be piping hot to be delicious.
Blister – Shishitos have a very thin skin. When you pan-fry them in a little oil, the skin blisters (or turns brown) and pulls away from the flesh. Because the skin is so thin, it’s edible and this blistering process adds a nice flavor to the peppers. The mistake I made at the beginning was to blister the peppers too long. They became very soft and much of the moisture was cooked out. Now I leave in the pan just until both sides show some blistering as seen in the picture. The smaller ones will cook quite fast, so you can choose to remove them sooner.
Piñon – As you know I love piñon or pine nuts, but they are expensive and in some places hard to find. Pecans and almonds are good substitutes. Walnuts might be overpowering, but that’s my opinion since I’m not a big walnut person.
Garlic – Adjust the amount of garlic to your liking. I am a huge garlic person, so one large garlic clove works great without overpowering the piñon or cheese.
For inspiration on adding shishito peppers to your menu, take a look at these 9 Restaurant-Worthy Shishito Peppers Recipes at Food & Wine.
If you have been to my kitchen before you already know that chile or chile peppers are my thing. Below are just a few of the my past posts about pickled peppers and New Mexico chiles.
These Blistered Shishitos with Garlic and Piñon are my fav <3 Thanks for this recipe 🙂
I’ve tried this recipe and it was super delicious. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I don’t know if I like this snack because it’s so beautiful or because I start imagining how delicious it is… I would never think of grilling the topping; it’ such a wonderful idea !
I eat tons of shishitos when we go to Japan (all the yakitori places serve it grilled) and bring some back home too, but when I tried growing it on my balcony it has yielded very few fruits though the plants were big… I thought it was not made for small spaces and stopped growing it. Maybe I was unlucky? I should try sowing them once more!
Thanks Darlin! It does make a great snack and I always add a little extra garlic, nuts and cheese so I can just eat that out the pan. 🙂 That’s interesting that you get a low yield on your balcony. Maybe not enough sun? As the days have been getting shorter, mine have slowed in production, so maybe they need at least 6 or hours of full sun. Just a guess. I would try again. I added some to a simple pasta dish last night and they worked great with the other ingredients of smoked chicken and roasted red peppers. Hope you’re having a great week Sissi!
I’ve never had these little peppers, but I love the color! This is a great idea for an appetizer, too!
Thanks Amy!
Your presentation is really beautiful for these delectable little bites. I think these or a similar type of pepper is often served as one of the tapas in bars in Madrid (an unexpected blast of pepperiness in a usually bland cuisine). I once sat at the bar mid-afternoon watching the peppers in progress as they were blistered and readied for rush hour.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks Mae for your comment! Oh how I would loved to sit at the bar your mentioned and watch the chefs blistering peppers. I just love watching a great chef cook anything. 🙂 I’ve had people says that shishitos are peppery, but I find them very mild but tasty.
Such a fun appetizer. I love blistered shishitos but never added in toppings. Definitely making it tomorrow!
Thanks Kankana! Hope you enjoy it!
Wow ! I almost missed this beauty MJ !!!!!! Printing 🙂 🙂 🙂 Enjoy your week !
Thanks so much Darlin! Glad you caught it.
Wow! This looks like an addictive appetizer. The flavors sounds so good.
Thanks Taruna! It does taste as good as it looks. 🙂
I have not had shishitos before but I really love what you’ve done with them. What a great little appetizer! Pinons would be my choice too!
Thanks Jan! My sister recently made this with poblano and she loved it, so I’m trying it with NM green next. 🙂
MJ, how lovely! The peppers must be amazing and that crispy topping is everything! Love it!
Thanks Kelly! They are pretty amazing. Like I mentioned in the post, Bobby and I can finish off of batch of these in about 3 minutes. 🙂
This year was not the year for my garden. I did try a shishito and can’t say I replicated your success. However Trader Joe’s keeps me well supplied because I love these babies! These sound awesome!
Thanks Abbe! Sorry that your garden didn’t do well. Ours had ups and downs. The shishitos and Swiss chard did great and we had a nice burst of tomatoes, but that was pretty much it. Thank goodness for places like Trader Joe’s and our growers’ markets. 🙂
Love that delicious topping. We made blistered shishito peppers quite often during the summer as we have a Korean Farmers market near us. However, we so need to try your delicious crispy topping. This brings this dish over the top.
Thanks Bobbi! I know, I could just eat the topping. 🙂
uuummmm! Very good! I didn’t have shishitos, so I used poblanos, and instead of pinons I used pistachios. Blistering the peppers made them very sweet and tender. The nuts and garlic gave a good contrast in textures. I made these as a side to a steak meal. Jim and I really enjoyed them. I think these would make a good appetizer for a big meal or at a dinner party.
Oh, now I get it!! I totally didn’t connect the dots when you sent the picture. What a great idea to use poblanos in place of shishitos. Now you have me thinking about doing the same thing with NM green chile. I roasted a batch up yesterday, so I’ll give it a try. Thanks Darlin!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Oh MJ! You have really done it here. I could see that topping sprinkled on all sorts of things, but with shishitos is absolutely brilliant. Well done! 🙂
Thanks Judy! I’m with you. The possibilities are endless.
I’ve never had shishitos stuffed, they sure look good.
Thanks Karen! They really aren’t stuffed. The nut mixture just sits on top. I can’t imagine stuffing shishitos. They are just way too small, but I have seen recipes that do that. I’d have to let them get a lot bigger, but I can’t wait to pick them so that’s not going to happen. 🙂
They are my favourite! Yours looks really pretty and delicious with that garlicky nutty topping, MJ.
Thanks Angie! I hope you give this a try since you are a shishito lover.
I’m so into these! A couple of years ago, G & I were at a restaurant in Santa Barbara with roasted shishitos on the appetizer menu. I had never had them served that way – the more interesting part though, was that the waiter described them as being a bit like the Russian roulette of peppers – most are mild but every once and while, one is on fire! Hah, I’ll never forget that. Anyway, we did order them and they were delicious. I love the addition of garlic and pine nuts to bring the flavors home… what a pretty presentation too! Gotta try these.
Thanks Kelly! You know, I’ve heard that about shishitos as well, as there being a hot one every now and then; however, I’ve been growing them for about 4 years now and have NEVER had a hot one and even a spicy one. They have all been relatively mild. I’m still waiting for the hot one to hit tongue. 🙂
Blistered shishito peppers have become a favorite snack or appetizer for us. Easy, tasty, addictive. We usually serve them by themselves or a dip. Really like the garlic and piñon treatment that you’ve given yours — sounds wonderful. And I’ll be trying it. And by coincidence, I have a recipe that uses these peppers appearing next week. 🙂 Anyway, this is nice — thanks.
Thanks John! Looking forward to see what you do with these beauties.