Pimientos de Padrón: “Spanish Roulette”

Of course, Mexico provided the first peppers to Spain way back in 1493, but now Spain has developed their own favorite varieties and some have migrated back to the Western Hemisphere, like pimientos de padrón, which are sometimes called “Spanish roulette” because from pod to pod you don’t know whether or not it will be mild or spicy until you bite into them.  I found some of these at the downtown grower’s market here in Albuquerque and snapped them up.  When I got home, I lightly fried them in olive oil until they were browned, then drained them and sprinkled them with coarse sea salt.  Talk about a great antojito! Absolutely delicious.  They are available from Tienda.com starting in late July, if you can’t find them locally.