Padron peppers, or pimientos de Padrón, are a delicious Spanish tapa that are easy to prepare at home in a matter of minutes. If you're looking for a vegan appetizer for your next tapas party or just in need of a quick snack, padron peppers are perfect!

This week marks two years since I first arrived in Barcelona. For the occasion I’ve finally decided to open a Spanish category here on my blog. Vegetarian recipes from Spain, what can I say? They’re limited.

I asked this question to my husband this morning as we were on our way to the Sunday open-air book market in search of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. He hummed and hawed for a moment and then suggested bread with tomato.

Well, yes, it is probably the most ubiquitous tapas dish available in Barcelona, and it’s 100% vegetarian, it’s not really the caliber of dish I’m looking for to include in my recipe index. He pointed out that most dishes from here, as well as from the other regions of Spain where his family is from, are meat- or fish-based.

However, that hasn’t been much of a problem for me living here as a vegan. There are some excellent vegan-friendly restaurants, and going out for tapas when we’re too lazy to cook usually results in a satisfying meal of patatas bravas, grilled artichokes, mushrooms, and padron peppers.

Padron peppers have become one of my favorites since trying them for the first time two years ago. Almost every supermarket sells them and they’re dead easy to prepare.

The peppers are mild and sweet, but they say that every one in ten is super spicy. Usually I’m not lucky enough to get a spicy one, such a shame since I can tolerate spice much more than those with whom I usually dine. Try these delightful little peppers as an appetizer, they're more addictive than potato chips!

To prepare Padron peppers, simply heat a pan over high heat and add a bit of olive oil. For my package of 200 grams of peppers, I used just one tablespoon of olive oil. Once it's hot, toss in the peppers. Stand back because they tend to sputter! 

Toss the peppers a few times over the next few minutes until they begin to blister, soften and collapse. Remove them to a plate and sprinkle over some flaky sea salt. 

Since you need the peppers to have good contact with the hot pan, only fry as many as will fit in your pan in a single layer. You may need to work in batches if they don't all fit at once.

Serve your Padron peppers with a plate on the side to discard the stems and alongside another Spanish tapa like this vegan Spanish omelette or these Spanish spinach croquettes.

Padron Peppers (Pimientos de Padron)

Yield: 2 servings

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Padron peppers, or pimientos de Padrón, are a delicious Spanish tapa that are easy to prepare at home in a matter of minutes.

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Ingredients

• 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Padron peppers
• flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Heat a pan over high heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and heat to shimmering. I had 200 grams of peppers and used 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the peppers in a single layer and cook them, stirring frequently, until the skins are blistered and starting to brown. If they don't fit in a single layer, work in batchs. Remove them from the pan and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the peppers. You can eat everything but the stem.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 121Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 291mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

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