Gernika Sweet Pepper
A sweet delicious pepper from the Basque country of Spain. It was a favorite in my garden this year, with 6″ long, red fruit that start to crinkle a little on the plant when mature. They dry easily and while many sweet peppers are just papery and bland when dried, these are deeply, deliciously flavorful. Gernika is also famously good when green, fried up in olive oil or grilled with a little salt, much like Padrón peppers. Traditionally ground into a sweet paprika widely used for sauces in Spain. I just keep them in pieces for enriching winter stews and sauces. Either way, they are easy and a great winter standby. Casey O'Leary of the Snake River Seed Co-op was given this variety by Lino Zabal, a Basque gardener living in Boise, Idaho, who had been growing them for over 40 years.