Worth The Hype? – Fried Jimmy Nardello’s Peppers
The story of Jimmy Nardello’s peppers is an immigrant tale. Giuseppe and Angella Nardello arrived from southern Italy in the late 1800s, immigrating to Naugatuck, Connecticut. With them they brought seeds from their Italian garden, including a sweet frying pepper. They grew these peppers to feed their eleven children, saving the seeds, year after year. When they died, their son Jimmy, the fourth child, took on the task, cultivating peppers and saving seeds. Before he passed in the early 1980s, Jimmy donated some seeds, saved over the generations by his family, to the Seed Savers Exchange, who named the heirloom variety after him – Jimmy Nardello’s Pepper.
This may be the case with lots of people who tried to bring a little of their past lives with them as they started new, whether forced or by choice. In a recent article in Bon Appétit magazine, farmer and author Leah Penniman describes West African women braiding seeds into their hair – sesame, gourd, melon, rice, and black-eyed peas, among others – before being forcibly brought to America as part of the slave trade. Asian markets often have a small display with packets of seeds for sale. Interesting types of beans, eggplants, greens, and herbs that they can grow in their gardens and may be otherwise difficult to find, reminding them of home. Think about all the small, cultural groceries all over the country selling varieties of produce that you can’t find elsewhere. When I was young we could find tomatillos only in cans imported from Mexico to make Pollo Verde (Green Chicken). Over time we could find them fresh, but only at Mexican grocery stores, and now there are piles in almost every supermarket. The seeds must have originally been brought by immigrants, and have now worked their way into the mainstream.
But back to Jimmy Nardello’s, a sweet, fruity, thin-skinned, horn-shaped pepper, bright red when mature, and beloved by chefs who talk about them with more reverence than I’ve seen for almost any other ingredient. Available in limited supply only in late August and early September, they are a seasonal treat. If you read cooking magazines or follow chefs on social media, you’ve probably heard of Jimmy Nardello’s. The question is, are they worth the hype?
I’ve never seen these peppers for sale anywhere, not even at my local farmer’s market. But as with lots of vegetable varieties, if you want to try them, you have to grow them yourself. So this year, after not too difficult a search, I procured some seeds to grow my own Jimmy Nardello’s. The plants initially grew slowly, as with all pepper plants, fruits getting bigger throughout the summer, green at first, finally ripening to a brilliant red as we approached Labor Day. I even forgot I had planted them, thinking they were long hot peppers, which look similar, but with a spicy bite.
Finally I harvested them. I opted for the simplest of preparations – pan frying them in a minimum amount of olive oil and sprinkling them only with coarse salt – so the true flavor would shine through. Sweeter than almost any other pepper I’ve tried and without the slight bitterness that characterizes most peppers, they were delicious. Even my wife, who doesn’t hate peppers, but certainly doesn’t search them out, was pleasantly surprised and volunteered that these were a pepper she would eat again.
If you are lucky enough to find Jimmy Nardello’s peppers at a market, they are well worth purchasing. If not, you can always grow your own, and I can verify that they are definitely worth the hype.
Fried Jimmy Nardello’s Peppers
While these sweet peppers can be eaten raw, stuffed, roasted, or cooked into other foods, this simple fried preparation is the place to start. It shows off the true flavor of the pepper, not hidden in sauces or by other ingredients. Why not save other recipes for peppers without as much character and enjoy these peppers in the simplest way possible?
These pan fried peppers make a great appetizer or side dish accompanying a larger meal, and they would be great packed into an overstuffed sandwich.
15 minutes, serves 3 to 5
8 – 10 Jimmy Nardello’s peppers, as many as will fit comfortably in your skillet with every pepper touching the bottom of the pan
1 Tbsp. olive oil
coarse sea salt
- Remove the seeds and membranes of the peppers by making a short horizontal slit along the top of the pepper just below the stem with a sharp knife (be careful not to slice off the stem) and a long, perpendicular slit about three quarters of the way down the pepper. Carefully open the pepper and slice/pull out the seeds and membrane. It is fine if you do not get all of them. (Alternatively, keep the pepper whole and remove the seeds and membrane after you fry them or while eating them.)
- Pick a heavy skillet with a lid that is large enough so that all of the peppers will touch the cooking surface. Heat it on medium-high and add the olive oil. When the olive oil shimmers, add the peppers. Cook them without stirring for several minutes until the skin is slightly wrinkled and they just start to char along one edge. Flip the peppers with a tongs and cook until that side is done. Keep flipping and cooking peppers until they are cooked on all sides, adjusting heat if they are burning or smoking.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and cover it with a lid. Allow the peppers to steam for 5 to 10 minutes. This will further soften the flesh.
- Place the cooked peppers on a plate and sprinkle with coarse salt. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
