"Padron, Spain" a Padrón Travel Page by Shabu

Padron is a small village of about 700 people which sits atop a breathtaking fjord. It is the birthplace of several of Spain's leading writers and poets including Rosalia de Castro, Macias, Rodrigues de Padron, and the Nobel Prizewinner for Literature, Camilio Jose Cela.

We spent Friday night in Padron in hopes of returning back to Santiago de Compostela the next morning. This is a view from our hotel window of the very colorful, local train station. The rainbow was a nice surprise...

Galicia's fertile soil and cooler weather conditions are ideal for growing Padron Peppers or Pimientos de Padron.

Here's a little history that I found out about these tasty morsels.... Padron peppers were brought back from South America by Spanish monks in the 16th century. The monks grew the peppers in the gardens of their convent in the Padron district. The peppers soon became a favorite at the table of locals, enabling the monks to trade in the peppers for other much-needed products.

Today, these little green peppers are a staple at tapas bars in Spain, where they are simply cooked in lots of olive oil over a slow heat until blistered and served with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. They are sweet and absolutely delicious. But there is a catch you see, one in about every ten of these mild tasting peppers are super hot and I mean screaming, drink what ever you can find hot. The trick is you never know which one. It's like playing culinary russian roulette.

The best way to eat these wonderful little gems is to begin by taking a mini bite from the tip of each one to make sure it wouldn't kill you before you eat the entire pepper. You'll know it right away. Believe me, it will hit you when you least expect it.