Blistering Shishito peppers with salty bottarga make for the most satisfying lunch, snack or dinner side. The contrast between the bright green peppers and the yellow specks of bottarga will immediately have your guests drawn to it. Once they’ve had a taste, it’ll be gone in minutes.

WHAT IS BOTTARGA?

So what the heck is bottarga? Bottarga is the Italian name for salted and cured fish roe.  Elevate your dishes by grating bottarga on pasta, eggs, and veggies (like roasted peppers and asparagus). I first tried tuna bottarga in San Sebastian. The bottarga was sliced, plated with marcona nuts and drizzled with olive oil. We thought we were ordering tuna carpaccio (neither I nor my husband speaks the Basque language) so when it arrived we were initially disappointed …that is until we tasted it. I remember thinking, how can such a simple dish be so darn good. For more info on bottarga head to Sho Spaeth’s article at Serious Eats

For this recipe I used a mullet bottarga or as the Italians call it bottarga di muggine. Click here to have it delivered to your doorstep!

RECIPE FOR SHISHITO PEPPERS WITH BOTTARGA

The beauty of this dish is its simplicity. It takes just minutes to make and requires only 3 ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz of shishito peppers
• 1/2 Tbsp of grapeseed oil
• 1/4 to 1/3 a cup of grated bottarga di muggine

Let’s Cook:

1. First, heat a large skillet or heavy pan over medium-high heat until it is nice and hot.
2. Then, in a bowl, mix together the peppers and the grapeseed oil. You want to lightly coat the peppers with oil so that they don’t become over saturated and limp.
3. Once the skillet/pan is nice and hot then add the peppers to the skillet . Don’t overcrowd the peppers. If you are using a smaller pan, cook them in batches.
4. Cook the peppers for two minutes on each side or until they blister.
5. Once they are done, add the peppers to a serving dish and sprinkle bottarga on top. Serve and eat immediately.

If you like this recipe, check out “Cumin Roasted Cauliflower with Chopped Almonds and Dates”