Variety

Jimmy Nardello

The American heirloom frying pepper — sweet, thin-skinned, extraordinary on the grill

Jimmy Nardello is an heirloom Italian-American sweet frying pepper brought to the US by the Nardello family from Basilicata in 1887 and named after Jimmy Nardello who preserved the seed. It produces long, thin-walled, wrinkled fruit with an extraordinary sweetness and almost no heat. Originally intended for frying in olive oil, it's one of the most sought-after and flavourful sweet peppers for fire cooking.

Flavour

Intensely sweet, fruity, and complex with a thin skin that essentially disappears when cooked. The wrinkled, thin-walled fruit has concentrated flavour reminiscent of sun-dried sweetness even when fresh. No bitterness, no heat — purely, deeply sweet pepper flavour. Exceptional when fried or grilled.

In the kitchen

The definitive frying pepper — cook whole in olive oil in a cast iron pan over high fire until blistered and collapsed, 5–8 minutes. Season with salt and serve as a side or topping for grilled meat. Also extraordinary when charred directly on the grill grate and eaten whole. One of the best vegetables you can cook over an open fire.

Growing

Heritage variety (open-pollinated) grown under glass in the UK. Less vigorous than F1 hybrids but outstanding flavour more than compensates. Seed is becoming more widely available from UK heritage seed suppliers. Needs a warm, long season — start early and grow in the best-heated greenhouse space available. Save seed easily for future seasons.