The last recipe for our Witchy and Wonderful theme is this whimsical, yet creepy appetizer of witches fingers. Our Asian inspired menu was just cackling out for some delicious blistered shishito peppers. The best part about this recipe is that the peppers do all the Halloween heavy lifting all on their own. These long wrinkling peppers already look like witch’s gnarly fingers so they don’t really need any preparation, simply roast and serve them without adding the almond fingernails. Here at GAH, it’s all about adding that extra little garnish or detail that makes it special. So, I couldn’t let an opportunity pass by without adding a little spooky personality, so I added blanched almonds fingernails with fun nori spider nail decals. Enjoy my pretties!
Witchy Finger Food
Equipment
- Mini Spider Punch (optional) See recipe note
Ingredients
- ½ lb shishito peppers
- 30 blanched almond halves
- black sesame seeds
- punched nori spiders (optional) (nail decals)
Chili Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. garlic chili sauce
- 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Trim off stems and then cut the tip of each pepper off at an angle and use a paring knife to remove the exposed ribs of the pepper to make room for the almond fingernail. Trim a blanched almond to fit and place in the tip if the pepper to create a fingernail. Place fingers on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Baste peppers with chili sauce and bake for 8-10 minutes. Not to worry if the nails fall out, once the peppers are softened you can reposition the fingernails as needed.
- Optional nail decals: I punched out some nori spiders with a mini spider punch I got many moons ago and placed them on each nail using a dot of the chili sauce to adhere them.
