Silky and buttery when cooked, the Jimmy Nardello pepper pairs particularly well with seared meats such as this skillet pork chop. If you can’t find the Jimmy Nardello, Shishito or Padrón peppers would work well.
Rey Lopez for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky
I think I first tasted the long crimson pepper at the Union Square Greenmarket in New York in 2017. Every summer since, I’ve noticed it pop up as a special on menus, which has made me wonder more than once: Is this the new ramp? Slender like cayennes but sweet like bells, they’re often twisted, twirled or hooked. You might compare them to Cubanelles or Lombardos, but this particular pepper — the Jimmy Nardello — is a distinct variety. Its seeds are among those preserved by the nonprofit Seed Savers Exchange.
“The Jimmy Nardello is a fun one, because it has a fun backstory,” says Amon Mueller, co-owner of Full Belly Farm in the Capay Valley of Northern California, where they’ve been growing Nardellos for at least 15 years. Long story short: When Jimmy Nardello’s parents immigrated to the United States from Naples in the late 1880s, they brought along seeds for a sweet frying pepper that thrived in the hot Southern Italian sun. Jimmy, the fourth of 11 children, inherited his mother’s love for gardening. Before he died in 1983, he donated his family’s pepper seeds to the Seed Savers Exchange, where they were named for him.
Especially fruity, crunchy when raw, and silky and buttery when cooked, the Jimmy Nardello is worth seeking out. It pairs particularly well with seared meats, as in this skillet pork chop recipe. It’s not nearly as easy to find as a bell pepper, but its popularity is rising. Mueller’s farm devotes three acres to pepper varieties and he says Nardellos now take up half the total space. I asked him what he thinks is behind the growing demand. “Well, we have always grown things for flavor, and it serves us well. The Jimmy Nardello, it’s not the most picturesque pepper in the world; it’s a gnarly looking thing, but it has an incredible flavor. Chefs love it,” Mueller said.
In California, the season is now. “We had kind of a perfect spring,” Mueller told me. “So we’ll harvest for the next two weeks and then again in August through October.” You might see Nardellos at farmers markets in the South. On the East Coast, the peppers are ripening now and are expected at farmers markets from July on. If you don’t see them in your area, there are plenty of alternatives, both sweet and spicy. Some Walmart locations carry green or yellow Italian peppers that would work just as well in this recipe.
If you want to experience the flavor of Jimmy Nardellos but don’t have a fresh source, one of my favorite spice purveyors, Burlap & Barrel, produces a flaked version using Jimmy Nardellos from Norwich Meadows Farm in New York. Burlap & Barrel co-founder Ethan Frisch said because the raw product isn’t spicy, the dried flakes are ideal for people who want the deep, umami flavor of a good pepper without the heat. “They sweeten even more in the drying process,” Frisch said, noting that these flakes also rehydrate well. I bet they’d be great as a sprinkle on top of this or probably any savory dish.
Shishito or Padrón peppers, which are mild but can have a hot kick, would also work well in this recipe for Skillet Pork Chops and Peppers. That’s because it’s a pretty straightforward, easily adaptable, two-step formula:
1. Cook an animal-based protein in a skillet over high heat so that any exterior fat renders into the pan.
2. Cook a vegetable in the same pan, allowing it to pick up the fat and flavor of the protein.
Lots of recipes are essentially this, with a tweak such as a marinade or maybe sweet fruit instead of a vegetable, or possibly a liquid such as wine or broth to make a pan sauce.
(You can do this with skin-on fish, too, or slabs of extra-firm tofu, but you’ll need to add extra fat in the form of oil or butter to ensure that the pan doesn’t dry out before everything is properly cooked.)
There’s another trick in this recipe, and it’s a good one. Some cuts of meat have a fat cap on one edge, a creamy white layer that will partially render whether you cook the meat in a pan or on the grates of a grill. Bone-in pork chops almost always have a fat cap, but you might also notice it on certain cuts of beef or lamb. As a diner, I find that flap of fat unpleasant. So, as a cook, I like to render as much of it as I can.
For this recipe, after you sear the chops, you’ll stack them on top of each other and use tongs to hold them upright, fat cap flush with the hot skillet, until it melts out and the edges of the chops brown and crisp. Because you’re cooking the meat in a skillet, it’s a win-win: Your chops are properly cooked, and now you have a pan well greased with flavorful pork fat that you can use to cook another thing — in this case, a pound of the wonderful and wacky peppers with a first and last name.
Using tongs, stack the chops on top of each other with their fat caps facing the same direction. Turn the chops onto their sides, fat cap down, and sear until the fat cap browns and some of the fat renders, 1 to 2 minutes.
Rey Lopez for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky
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Skillet Pork Chops and Peppers
2 (¾-inch-thick) bone-in pork chops (1¼ pounds total)
½ teaspoon fine salt
2 tablespoons high-heat cooking oil, such as vegetable
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 pound long, sweet peppers, such as Jimmy Nardellos, mini bell peppers or shishitos, stemmed, seeded and halved lengthwise, if desired
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Freshly cracked black pepper
Flaky sea salt (optional)
Season the pork on all sides with the fine salt and let rest for at least 10 minutes, or lightly cover and refrigerate for up to 10 hours. (If refrigerating, let the meat come to room temperature before cooking.) If any moisture has accumulated on the surface of the pork, lightly pat it dry.
In a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet over high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the garlic and, using tongs, toss it in the oil just until it begins to brown, about 30 seconds. Remove it from the skillet and reserve for another use. Gently lay the pork in the skillet and use tongs to press down on the meat so it makes even contact with the bottom of the pan. Cook until deeply browned, 4 to 5 minutes. (A little smoke is OK, but if it gets to be too much, reduce the heat to medium-high.) Flip the chops, and cook until deeply browned on the other side, another 4 to 5 minutes. If you have it, use a splatter screen to help keep the oil in the pan as the chops cook.
Using tongs, stack the chops on top of each other with their fat caps facing the same direction. Turn the chops onto their sides, fat cap down, and sear until the fat cap browns and some of the fat renders, 1 to 2 minutes. The pork is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 145°F for medium-rare. Transfer to a serving platter to rest.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the peppers and cook, tossing them in the hot pan until softened and lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and continue to sauté until it is absorbed by the peppers, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer the peppers to the platter with the pork chops, and season everything with black pepper and flaky salt, if desired. Cut the pork against the grain into ¾-inch-thick slices and serve family-style.
Substitutions: For pork chops, use skirt steak, hanger steak or other similar-size cuts, or pork tenderloin, with an adjustment to the cooking time. Out of garlic? Skip it, or infuse the oil with a small sprig of fresh rosemary. For sweet peppers, use spicy peppers; chopped kale or other dark, leafy greens; diced potatoes or squash; cabbage wedges; broccoli or cauliflower florets; asparagus; snap peas; mushrooms; or artichoke hearts. For balsamic vinegar, use red wine vinegar, or skip it.
2 to 3 servings
Nutrition per serving (based on 3}: 494 calories, 11g carbohydrates, 119mg cholesterol, 33g fat, 3g fiber, 39g protein, 9g saturated fat, 525mg sodium, 8g sugar
— G. Daniela Galarza