Chilli - Pimiento de Padron (Capsicum annuum)
This is the classic Spanish tapas pepper. Fruits are picked young and fresh and flash-fried whole in olive oil and sea salt. They are remarkably sweet and tender with a strong green pepper taste and very little heat (though one or two in every batch will be pretty fiery).
The name comes from the Spanish municipality of Padron in Galicia, where the variety originated, but Padron pepper plants are unfussy and easy to grow in other climes. In the UK they will even do well outside in a sheltered spot in good summers. They fruit very early and can be harvested from early July through to the end of August. They are prolific producers and the more small green peppers you remove, the more will grow.
Peppers can also be left to grow large and ripen to a beautiful deep red. At this stage they can be used like other sweet red peppers but be careful, as the odd one can hold quite a fierce heat and because of their relatively large size, it can be easy to over-do the spice in your cooking.
7 litre pots are fine for Padrons. Bigger pots are better if you have space, but plants stay quite compact so 10-15 l is probably the biggest you’ll need.