Pimientos de Padrón Day

The story

Pimientos de Padrón are small green peppers blistered in hot olive oil and finished with coarse sea salt until wrinkled and irresistible. Most are mild and grassy; a few hide a sharp kick—the famous Russian roulette of Spanish tapas. They arrive piled on a plate, shiny with oil, meant to be eaten by the stem in rapid, happy succession.

Originally tied to Galician growing traditions around Padrón, the peppers are now loved nationwide as a quick vegetarian tapa. High heat and a roomy pan matter so they sear rather than steam. Salt should be generous and crystalline. They need no sauce: oil, char, and chance heat are the entire show. Few dishes deliver so much pleasure with so little preparation or pretense at the bar.

On Pimientos de Padrón Day, blister the peppers in shimmering olive oil, drain briefly, and shower with flaky salt. Serve immediately while the skins still crackle and dare friends to find the hot one. Celebrating pimientos de Padrón is celebrating Galicia’s playful blistered green tapa.