Warm Roasted Potato Salad with Blistered Shishitos

I have another restaurant-inspired dish for you today! Warm roasted potato salad with blistered shishito peppers and feta! But before we get to that...

Breaking BAD!!! OMG you guys. Did you watch it!? I won't give anything away...just. Wowza. That last ten minutes, when you know what's gonna happen and you're still jumping up and down, ripping your hair out, yelling at the TV. Is it next Sunday yet!?

Ok, moving on... (but I'm dying inside to talk about Breaking Bad!!) so this recipe. A few weeks ago my friend Genevieve and I had lunch at the fancy new Bar Sajor in Pioneer Square. The service was ridiculously slow, and everything was a bit expensive, but the food was really fresh and good. I've worked in Pioneer Square for years, and maybe I'm just not used to fine dining down here. I mean, cheap gyros and pho... yeah, we have that. But 2-hour lunches with a hefty price tag? Not the norm in these parts.

Anyway, my favorite dish was probably also the simplest. Roasted potatoes with whole, blistered shishito peppers, big chunks of tangy feta, a bit of house made aioli, and a pinch of fresh thyme. Who knew that potatoes and shishitos were a match made in heaven? In my version, I swapped out the aioli with a creamy thyme dressing, and sliced the blistered shishitos so that it can all be tossed together and eaten more like a salad.

New to shishitos? Get on it, my friends! These Japanese peppers are super flavorful, slightly sweet, and not at all spicy (although I've read that once in a while you'll find one with a bit of heat). According to Ben and V (who gave me these peppers from their garden), shishitos are a popular bar snack in Japan, just fried up and sprinkled with sea salt, eaten whole. Once you blister 'em, you'll be tempted to just snack on these like crazy, so I would recommend getting a few extras. You might have trouble finding them at your regular grocery store, but Asian stores and markets should have them year round.

Warm Roasted Potato Salad with Blistered Shishitos

Inspired by a dish at Bar Sajor
Serves 2

1 lb baby potatoes, scrubbed and halved
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tablespoon mayo
Juice from 1 lemon
Thyme from 2-3 sprigs
1/2 inch piece of shallot, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 shishito peppers
1/3-1/2 cup big feta crumbles

Preheat oven to 375. Toss potatoes and 2 tablespoons evoo, and add a generous shower of salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet, and bake for about 40-45 min, until golden and crispy. Let cool slightly.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high. Cook peppers, turning occasionally, until they begin to blister on all sides. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt, let cool until you can slice them without burning yourself. Holding onto the stem to slice peppers.

Whisk together mayo, lemon juice, thyme, shallot, and S&P to taste. Toss with warm potatoes and sliced peppers, gently fold in feta. Tastes great warm or cold!