INGREDIENTS

By Sous Chef Sean McPaul

All year around most people use garlic and onions as the only ingredients in their food. In this blog, I would like to share one of my favorite ingredients – Peppers. I believe peppers add a special and unique taste to food, and are also great if eaten alone.

There are several kinds of peppers that are available in the market, but three different peppers that I particularly use in preparing dishes are: Pimentos de Padron, Cayenne and Gypsy peppers.

Padrons, originally a product of Spain, are usually sweet in taste and mild in spice, but on occasion, one of them can randomly surprise you with an expected fiery heat. They are about thumb size and green in color. We get our Padrons from the farmers’ market. When roasted, Padrons bring a beautiful and colorful addition to the food.

Cayenne peppers are blood red in color and sweet but smoky. They add a perfect blend of heat and flavor to the food and are ideal for grilling. As Cayennes get older, their spice level increases. This is why you will see dried cayenne commonly use to really heat things up. As the peppers age and dry, the heat becomes quite intense.

Gypsy peppers on the other hand, have no fiery heat in them and are much sweeter. They come in all different colors - green, red, orange and yellow. Gypsy peppers are thin skinned and are great for garnishing. We buy both Cayenne and Gypsy peppers from Peach Farms in Sacramento, California. These peppers are a remarkable addition to the pepper family.

We are currently using Padrons in our Mystic Sockeye Salmon dish. The Cayennes can be found in our Grilled Sweet Cayenne Peppers and Pork Belly. Our Gypsy peppers are being served as a separate side dish, the perfect compliment to your meal.

Come on in an enjoy one of nature’s best and often overlooked ingredients – PEPPERS.