Walk on the mild side

The first time I heard of shishito peppers, I was in New York standing on Sullivan Street waiting for a table at a sushi restaurant. Friends visiting from the West Coast who waited in line with me mentioned the Japanese peppers, practically swooning as they described them -- slightly sweet, barely spicy and wonderfully charred, served with a salty sauce. Sadly, they weren’t on the menu.

After that night, I looked for them every time I went to a Japanese restaurant, but I never found them in New York.

Within a week of my move to Los Angeles almost a year later, those same friends -- who, by the way, think “Shishito” would be a great name for their firstborn child -- took me to Murakami in West Hollywood. Before long, a plate of a dozen or so shishitos, fried and tossed with a mix of sake and soy sauce, arrived at our table.

They disappeared quickly as we picked them up by their stems and ate them, seeds and all. Tender and a little wilted, with a haunting, smoky flavor, they were completely addictive.

Since that moment, I have ordered them whenever possible before a feast of raw fish. They make a more complex start than edamame, adding an unexpected earthiness to the meal from the sea.

About 2 to 4 inches long, shishito peppers are similar in flavor to pimientos de Padron, a smaller green pepper from Galicia, Spain. They accompany the entrecote at La Amistad, my favorite restaurant in Castropol, a tiny town in Asturias, where my grandmother came from. There the steak arrives with a side of the peppers sauteed, glistening in olive oil and sprinkled with salt.

The pimientos are also served as a tapa throughout Spain, usually fried and piled up in a small dish, similar to the shishito appetizer.

On a recent visit to the Santa Monica farmers market, I spotted shiny green shishitos at the Yasutomi Farms stall and excitedly bought a bag.

I spent the rest of the day dreaming of how I’d prepare them that evening. I could have simply stir-fried them and eaten the whole bag as a market-day main course, but inspiration struck and instead I decided to have them over scrambled eggs.

I seeded and finely diced three peppers, sauteed them in olive oil and sprinkled them with salt. I scrambled three eggs with a little heavy cream and poured the mixture into a small frying pan, where a bit of butter quietly bubbled. I stirred the eggs constantly with a wooden spoon until they were barely done, spooned them onto a plate, sprinkled them with the diced shishitos, added a little more salt and took a bite. It was heavenly. The creaminess of the eggs and the dusky, sweet shishitos complemented each other so well that the dish, while it was quick, comfort food at the end of a long day, was also something special.

Shishitos are available at farmers markets and at Japanese markets such as Mitsuwa and Murakai. They’re in season between June and September and work best alone or in dishes with simple ingredients that don’t overpower their subtle flavor.

Summer lunch

A tortilla Espanola, the Spanish frittata full of creamy, golden potatoes and translucent onions, serves as a rich setting for julienned shishitos. It is delicious warm or at room temperature, and would be perfect for a summer lunch with cold gazpacho.

Shishito tempura, a more common way of using the peppers, is a fun finger food and easier to make than you might suspect. A simple batter of flour, egg yolk and Japanese beer, coats the peppers and, once fried, gives them a crispy shell. Serve them with two easy-to-make dipping sauces: mirin-soy (salty-sweet) and Valencia orange-plum (tangy-sweet).

A terrific condiment to make with shishito peppers is green tomato salsa. Grilled tomatoes, green onions and the shishitos combine with lime and cilantro to make a fresh, summery topping for sweet corn blini topped with a dab of creme fraiche.

A word of warning: Although shishitos are mild peppers, about one in 10 will have a stronger bite, so once in awhile, there will be an extra bit of heat -- but it’s nothing that popping another shishito into your mouth won’t take care of.

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Corn blini with shishito and Green Zebra tomato salsa

Total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes including rising time

Serves: 6 (about 24 blini)

Note: Shishito peppers are available at Japanese markets and farmers markets. Green Zebra tomatoes are available at farmers markets. You may substitute any firm green tomato. Make the salsa while the blini batter rises.

Salsa

4 small firm Green Zebra tomatoes, cut in half (about 5 ounces)

2 medium (3- to 4-inch) shishito peppers

2 green onions, ends and tops trimmed

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon lime juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Heat a well-seasoned stove-top grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Brush the tomatoes, peppers and green onions with the olive oil. Grill the vegetables, turning them to brown all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Remove the vegetables from the pan and allow them to cool. Cut the tomatoes into small dice and place in a small bowl. Cut the tops off the peppers and chop; add to the bowl. Chop the green onions and add.

3. Stir in the garlic, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Let stand 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. (Makes 1 cup.)

Blini and assembly

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 package active dry yeast (1 1/8 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

2 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon creme fraiche, divided

1/2 cup corn kernels, coarsely chopped

2 egg whites, beaten until stiff

2 tablespoons clarified butter

Shishito and Green Zebra tomato salsa

1. Heat the milk to simmering. Remove it from the heat and stir in the sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Sprinkle the yeast over warm water and stir until dissolved. Let the mixture stand until the yeast begins to bubble, then stir it into the milk mixture.

3. Combine the flour and cornmeal in a bowl. Add the yeast mixture and whisk until smooth. Cover and let stand 1 hour or until batter doubles in volume. (Prepare the salsa while the batter rises.)

4. Stir down the batter and beat in the egg yolk, butter, creme fraiche and corn. Fold in the egg whites just until mixed.

5. Brush a large nonstick skillet with the clarified butter and heat over medium heat until hot. For each blini, scoop out from the bottom of the bowl 1 scant tablespoon batter and spoon it into the skillet. Fry 3 or 4 blini at a time. Cook until golden and set, about 1 1/2 minutes, then turn and cook another 1 to 2 minutes until golden.

6. Remove the blini to a paper towel and continue to cook blini until all the batter has been used.

7. To serve, place four blini on each plate, spoon a generous teaspoon of shishito and Green Zebra tomato salsa onto each blini, then top each with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Each serving: 197 calories; 5 grams protein; 18 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 12 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 58 mg. cholesterol; 337 mg. sodium.

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Tortilla Espanola with shishitos

Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 6 to 8

Note: Shishito peppers are available at Japanese markets and farmers markets.

15 shishito peppers, halved, seeded and stemmed

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

1 medium onion

4 cups canola oil

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed

2 teaspoons salt

9 eggs

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1. Slice the peppers lengthwise into one-eighth-inch strips (about 1 1/2 cups). Peel and slice the potatoes into one-eighth-inch slices (you’ll have about 1 1/2 cups sliced). Thinly slice the onion.

2. Fill a deep 11-inch frying pan with canola oil. When it is hot add the potatoes and onions. The oil should be hot enough to cook the potatoes but not so hot that it will fry and burn them, about 220 degrees. Stir occasionally so the potatoes don’t stick to the bottom. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes.

3. When the potatoes are soft and knife-tender, add the sliced peppers. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the potatoes, onions and peppers with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined bowl. The oil will drain to the bottom. Let the cooking oil cool and discard.

4. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Add the potato-pepper mixture, and gently fold to combine. Season with 2 teaspoons of salt.

5. In a 10-inch nonstick frying pan, add two tablespoons olive oil. Heat over medium heat. When it is hot, swirl it around so that it coats the pan. Pour in the egg-potato mixture and gently move the pan in a circular motion a few times so that the egg doesn’t stick. Smooth out the potatoes on top, if necessary, to make an even surface. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat to low. Cook until the tortilla starts to bubble, and the sides are firm and somewhat set, about 20 minutes.

6. To turn the tortilla, place a large flat plate over the frying pan and turn the tortilla onto the plate. If the frying pan is dry, add additional oil as needed. Gently slide the uncooked side of the tortilla back into the pan. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until golden and set, again moving the pan in circular motions. Remove from the heat, place a large serving plate over the pan and carefully invert on to the plate. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.

Each serving: 393 calories; 10 grams protein; 22 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 30 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 238 mg. cholesterol; 668 mg. sodium.

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Shishito pepper tempura

Total time: 40 minutes

Servings: 8 (48 peppers)

Note: Shishito peppers are available at farmers markets and at Japanese markets.

Mirin-soy dipping sauce

3 tablespoons mirin

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon minced ginger

In a small bowl, stir together the mirin, lime juice, honey, soy sauce and ginger. Stir to blend. Set aside.

Valencia orange-plum sauce

1/2 cup plum jam

1/2 cup Valencia orange juice

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

In a small bowl, stir together the plum jam and orange juice until blended. Press the mixture through a strainer. Add the lime and orange zest and mix well. Set aside.

Tempura

Oil for frying

1 cup flour, plus 1/2 cup for dredging

1 egg yolk

1 cup Japanese beer, such as Sapporo, chilled

48 shishito peppers, chilled

Sea salt or kosher salt

1. In a deep saucepan, pour enough oil to measure 2 1/2 inches deep. Heat the oil to 375 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the beer batter. Measure the flour into a bowl. Place the egg yolk in a measuring cup and lightly beat. Add enough cold beer to measure 1 cup. Add the beer mixture to the flour and lightly stir with two chopsticks just to mix ingredients. The batter will be slightly lumpy and thick. Do not over mix.

3. Set the bowl of batter into a larger bowl of ice water to keep it chilled while you’re frying the peppers.

4. Roll the peppers in flour to lightly coat, then dip them in the batter, draining off the excess. Fry the peppers 3 at a time in the hot oil until lightly browned, about 3 minutes, turning the peppers to brown all sides.

5. When the peppers are brown, transfer them to a paper towel-lined baking sheet or a rack to drain. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining peppers. Serve hot with the dipping sauces.

Each serving: 466 calories; 8 grams protein; 61 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams fiber; 22 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 26 mg. cholesterol; 519 mg. sodium.