This is the first summer we have tried a farm share. Every Friday we get a random bushel of whatever is growing at the Nichols Farm in Marengo. Last week, we received a bunch of Sweet Melrose Peppers, which I had never heard of. After some quick research, I learned that this heirloom pepper was brought from Italy many years ago and is quite abundant in the Chicago-land area. There were some mentions of the pepper having roots (pun not really intended) in Melrose Park, but I got tired of reading and the origin of the Melrose Pepper is not really the point of this post. If you are not in the Chicago-land area or do not otherwise have access to some Melrose Peppers, an Anaheim chile would work just fine.

At any rate, I digress. The point was this bunch of peppers forced me to think of something creative to do with them. I decided on a quicker version of some of my other pork taco recipes. I wanted to use the fresh ingredients I had on hand and put a meal on the table quickly. I came up with Grilled Pork Tacos with grilled sweet Melrose peppers and pico de gallo. What I ended up with did not disappoint – check out the recipes and photos below.

Pico de gallo

1 cup seeded tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup diced white onion

1 tablespoon jalapenos, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Juice of 2 limes

2 tablespoons cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Add all ingredients to a bowl and toss to combine.

Charred Melrose Peppers

Pre-heat grill to high

12 Melrose peppers, stemmed and seeded

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt

Pepper

In a bowl toss peppers with oil, salt and pepper. Grill for 10 – 12 minutes until slightly charred. Remove from grill and slice into strips.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds of pork tenderloin

Add first three ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine. Using your hands, rub spice mixture all over pork. Grill over medium high heat, turning twice for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. After five minutes, shred pork with a fork. Serve on grilled corn tortillas with Melrose peppers, pico de gallo and your favorite taco toppings.