Pimientos de Padron - Russian roulette of peppers!

Whilst summering in España, I discovered a food that changed my life in a deep and lasting way. Never much fancied myself a pepper person. Oh, I’d taken a dare by El Salvadoran grape pickers and eaten an entire habanero in one bite, and certainly I’d bought my share of Ukrop’s stoplight peppers before the farmers' market scene slapped me upside my head. But never had I explored peppers a cappella until Manolo, the jolly hotelier/restaurateur at Hostal Bahía — Laxe on Costa de la Muerte, served up a plate of pimientos de Padrón. The world spins differently for me now.

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Now that it was late July, I figured I’d have to wait until 2010 to pop my beauties into the ground — then I discovered a stash of Padróns at the Byrd House Market.
Manakintowne Specialty Growers’ Pete Markham can attest under oath to how I blew that week’s market wad on three pounds of Padróns. When you consider that each pepper is the size of a strawberry, this is either quite a feat or the first signs of pathology. My name is Jason Tesauro, and I’m addicted to these peppers. I think I’d sell my mama’s silver for a $40 bag of these babies, and when the growing season’s over, I’m gonna need to hit the clinic for methPadróne to ease the jones.

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