shishito peppers with cheese / peperoni shishito col formaggio

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sweet and crunchy with a note of cheese
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

Our current Cook the Books Club selection is Family Tree by Susan Wiggs¹. The novel follow Annie as the life she thought was perfect shatters (physically, as she is the victim of a major accident, and emotionally, as the accident happens on the heels of her discovering her husband's infidelity) and is slowly rebuilt. I don't think the publisher's description "powerful, emotionally complex story" applies. However, if you enjoy stories about second chances, family and small towns you may like this novel.

pretty in bright green
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

At the beginning Annie is the producer of a TV cooking show called The Key Ingredient, starring her husband. At the end, she produces and stars in a food webcast called Starting from Scratch. I don't watch television nor webcasts, so have no experience of either genres. Still, I played a game in my mind, imagining what I would do if I were given the chance to host a food-centric show. I decided that I'd probably roam farmers markets and interview farmers and also stop at farmstands and do a live version of the still lives with produce I've been composing and photographing for some time². (I usually publish them on Sunday afternoon.)

Little Wing Farm stand near Point Reyes Station is a must stop

When I ride my bicycle, if I encounter a farmstand, I usually stop. One place where I like to do so is the Little Wing Farm's unmanned stand just outside Point Reyes Station in Marin County. The last time I stopped there, a couple of weeks ago, it had gorgeous bunches of flowers, which I could not look at too closely, since I couldn't carry one on my bike. I focused on the baby arugula (rucola) and shishito peppers: I purchased a bag of the former and a basket of the latter and tucked them into my light backpack (which also contained an oat bran date pecan muffin from Bovine Bakery³, in Point Reyes Station, my fuel for the longish ride).

After Point Reyes Station, my ride brought me to the charming village of Nicasio, home of the Nicasio Valley Cheese Company⁴. Given the warm temperature and the fact that I'd be on my bicycle for at least another couple of hours, I didn't stop to purchase cheese at the creamery (caseificio), but did so the following morning at the San Rafael farmers' market and went home with some of their tomino.

just add cheese
(placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

The baby arugula brightened my dinner salad for several days. As for the shishito peppers, the most common way of preparing them is described also on the sign at the farmstand: cooked in a cast-iron skillet until blistered. Quick and easy, it gives an excellent result. The blistered peppers can be served as appetizer or side dish (antipasto o contorno). I wondered how the small, thin-skinned peppers would taste when paired with the tomino and went to work to find out. I liked the result and made the dish several more times, using shishito peppers from the farmers' market.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Shishito peppers with cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 ounces / 140 grams shishito peppers
• 1 ounce / 30 grams Nicasio Valley Cheese Company tomino or similar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste

Warm up a 10-inch/25-cm cast-iron skillet on medium heat. Drizzle the olive oil and use a cooking brush to oil the skillet evenly.

Add the shishito peppers and spread them in a single layer. They should sizzle slightly in the hot skillet. Turn down the heat to medium-low.

Cook for 3 minutes, until the peppers are blistered in spots underneath.

In the meantime, slice the cheese thinly and quarter each slice. Distribute the cheese on the bottom of a serving plate.

Flip the peppers and cook 2 minutes until they are blistered in spots and tender, but still a bit crunchy.

Sprinkle the sea salt on the peppers and quickly transfer them to the prepared serving plate.

Serve immediately. 

Eat the peppers with a fork, making sure to scoop up a bit of the softened cheese along the way from plate to mouth.

Serves 1-2.

a batch of shishito peppers included yellowish and reddish ones
(small bowl by Lily Haas⁵, placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO)

This dish has become a favorite. My husband does not care for peppers which gives me an excuse to eat a whole basket by myself.

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¹ The book's page on the author's website
² My Instagram account
³ Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station
⁴ Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, makes tomino
⁵ Lily Haas (Instagram feed)

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

peperoni shishito col formaggio

or launch the peperoni shishito col formaggio [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems]

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This is my contribution to the current selection of our Cook the Books hosted by me, Claudia of Honey From Rock. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)

The roundup of the event.

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FTC disclosure: I have received the table linen free of charge from the manufacturer (la FABBRICA del LINO). I have not and will not receive any monetary compensation for presenting it on my blog. The experience shared and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

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shishito peppers, cheese

Comments

[Claudia]

I first encountered shishito peppers as an appetizer at one of our favorite restaurants here, and tried a number of times to get it started in my garden. Now finally, one of my starts is doing well, producing those lovely peppers.

[Simona Carini]

So glad your efforts are now rewarded with a nice harvest, Claudia. Besides being excellent, shishito peppers are also pretty :)

[Debra Eliotseats]

I always love to see how you're inspired by our reads. I love shishito peppers and usually grow some but I didn't have any seeds this spring. Your posts makes me sad I didn't get anything planted.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Debra :)
I hope your garden is doing well, even without shishito peppers. I can only grow a variety of leaf lettuce and arugula.

[Frank]

I adore shishito peppers and we enjoy them often in the summer. I usually just blister them with oil and lots of salt, but I really like the idea of enriching them with cheese. Sounds like a winner.

[Simona Carini]

Once I cook some, I find it impossible to stop eating them. Cheese makes them even more addictive, Frank :)

[Wendy Klik]

I have never even heard of shishito peppers but I'm going to be on the lookout now.

[Simona Carini]

I hope you find them, Wendy: they are a treat (addictive, though :)