12 Aug Shishito Pepper Snackers
There’s nothing like seasonal snacking – eating food picked at the peak of its freshness and ready to eat! Corn tastes sweeter, raspberries are juicier, tomatoes are softer, and peppers are crisper! And it is so good for you because it is FRESH!
“The best definition of fresh food is produce that hasn’t been lying around too long before we eat it. Within hours of picking, all the protective nutrients contained in the fruit start to break down…The word fresh, when speaking about produce, also means that it has been allowed to grow until it is fully mature, or ripe – when all its nutrients and enzymes are at their peak – before it is picked. This is just as critical. When a fruit [or vegetable] is immature, so are its contents. Vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants need time to fully develop,” (SuperLife, pg. 17).
That’s exactly what you get when you grab a container of peppers off the stand during the summer – the full potential of the tiny, little shishito pepper, which includes 80% of your vitamin A and 170% vitamin C in one small 1/2 cup.
There’s an undeniable flavor and quality to fresh, local foods. This summer, keep an eye out for shishito peppers at your local store or farmer’s market. These sweet peppers – originally from Japan – require minimal preparation before you have an incredible snack. Wash, warm in a pan, sprinkle with a little lemon and salt and pop these shishito pepper snackers in your mouth or pile them on a salad.
Ready to make them?
KITCHEN UTENSILS
- strainer
- fry pan or saute pan
- spatula
WHOLESOME INGREDIENTS
(Note: organic is always recommended)
Makes 1 serving
1 cup shishito peppers
1 tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
1/2 tsp lemon juice (try to use a fresh lemon if you can – lemon juice in a bottle is ok in a pinch for flavor, but it is pasteurized, so it loses its nutritional benefits).
1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt (add more or less to taste)
STEPS TO SOMETHING DELICIOUS
Rinse shishito peppers in vegetable wash or sanitize using the TherOzone Blue Leaf sanitizer spray bottle, which is the most comprehensive, cost-effective way (over time after the initial investment) I’ve found to kill food-borne bacteria and remove toxins. Make sure you pat the peppers dry (if you don’t excess water could crackle and splatter if your pan is too hot).
Poke the cleaned peppers with the tip of a knife so air can escape while cooking. If you don’t have time, feel free to skip this step, but some peppers can pop open without the hole for air.
Pour oil in the skillet and heat on medium heat. Add the peppers when the skillet is fully warmed. Turn once or twice, but don’t aim for charred, blackened areas, which is a common example you can see. Instead, remove from heat when they are heated on the outside but still crunchy on the inside with some small areas of “blistered,” heated skin.
Splash with the lemon juice and grind on Himalayan sea salt.
That’s it!
Enjoy these shishito peppers as a snack or incorporate them into a salad such as this Dill Cucumber Pepper Salad.
Erin Holt
Posted at 18:30h, 16 Februarywhy does the link to TherOzone not work