Easy Sesame Shish*to Peppers Recipe | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

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So, I’m curious, how do you all feel about eating out at a restaurant…alone?

And, no, dining onchips and salsa and a margarita at theairport’s Chili’s Too amongst tons of other solo travelers doesn’t count. (Not that, ahem, it’s my tradition to make that happenevery time I flyor anything.) No, I’m talking about full-on just going to a regular restaurant on a regular Tuesday night, grabbing a seat at the bar or a table for one, and enjoying a meal on your own.

Awkward? Empowering? NBD? Noway,Jose?

I’d say that I probably answer “yes” to all of the above. I’ve tried it dining out alone a handful of times. And while occasionally I get lucky and end up sitting at a bar with cool people, or find myself getting totally lost in a good book or (ahem) playing on my phone, thevast majority of the time I would rather have a friend along to eat with…or just grab take-out and eat at home. Some of my friends totally love it. But meh, I’ve made my peace with the fact that there are plenty of other ways I’d like to spend my awkwardness or empowered-ness. ;)

However. While Kathryne was out of town for two days during our stay in Austin last month, I decided to bite the bullet and hit up some restaurants and venues that were left on our bucket list…solo. I could have called up a few friends, but I had a random list of places to hit, so decided to just venture out on my own. And while I’m in no hurry to do it again soon, I have to admit that it was surprisingly fun. I definitely got lucky sitting down at a few places next to some really friendly, coolpeople, which was awesome. And at the one restaurantwhere I was feeling super-introverted, Idecided to whip out my book, which actually had the opposite effect and ended up sparking this long conversation about Donald Miller with the bartender and people around me. The other fun perk of eating out on my own?

I ordered the most scrumptiousbowl of shish*to peppers…anddidn’t have to share.

All. Mine. :)

Actually, I ordered shish*to peppers three different times while we were in Austin. And I swear that they turn me into this guy:

(“Ali doesn’t share shish*to peppers!!!”)

Ok, ok, I work very hard to share when they are served. But if were up to me, I would happily eat an entire batch anytime I’m around them.

Well, of course, the good news is that I no longer have to go out (on my own) to make this happen, becauseguesswhat I spotted at Trader Joe’s last week?

Boom. Shish*to time.

If you are new to the shish*to pepper craze, don’t freak out at their spicy-good-looks. They are actually incredibly mild, sweet, thin little peppers. And once they are blistered and charred,they turn into the most irresistible soft and smoky little treats.

For my first batch, I decided to go the Asian route and toss them with some sesame oil, sesame seeds and a hint of salt and pepper for seasoning. Super simple, but trust me, it’s all you need.

Just saute them in some high-heat-safe oil until they get nice and charred, seasoning them with salt and pepper along the way. (Note: the peppers first turn a light shade of brown, then blacken the longer they sit directly on the heat, which is what you want.) Then once they’re done, toss them in the sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.

And literally in just about 5 minutes, these guys will be cooked and wilted andperfect for snacking. Feel free to tinker with the seasonings ifyou’d like. (And if you happen to have some fancy salts at home, this is aperfect time to use them!)

Just BE PREPARED. You may very well want to eat the entire batch. :)