We grew shishito peppers in our backyard garden this year. Now I love shishito peppers but because I only knew a couple of ways to fix them and after a while I admit I was getting a little bored (and totally overwhelmed with piles of them!)
I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth when summer produce is at it’s peak! Winter will be soon enough with squash and beets.
But honestly how many times do I want to eat sautéed shishitos?
So, I started searching around and learned that they go really well as an addition to a kabob and also can be sliced into salads and eaten raw, although they are a bit spicier raw.
In my searching I found a recipe from Food & Wine for Grilled Leeks with Shishito Romesco from Chef Eli Kulp. It reminded me of a delicious chimichurri that our son, who’s a chef too, made for us on one of his recent visits. He served it with baked salmon and it was glorious. So here’s my version adapted from two great cooks!
Turning Shishitos into a sauce solved my dilemma of what to do with ALL my peppers and showed me what a delightful blend they can be when mixed with other herbs.
Hope you enjoy it!
Shishito Chimichurri Sauce
Equipment
- Barbeque
Ingredients
- 12 Shishito peppers stemmed but not seeded
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or parsley lightly packed
- 1 tbs fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup roasted cashews Almonds work too
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs fresh is best
- 1 tsp lemon zest (otherwise known as finely grated lemon peel from a fresh lemon)
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice just use the same lemon
Instructions
- Light the grill. Turn on high heat. Grill peppers, turning until lightly charred. About 2 minutes
- Transfer them to a food processor and let cool slightly
- Add parsley, almonds, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Pulse until finely minced. While the processor is running, add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fish, chicken, or veggies.