Piquillo Peppers Stuffed With Raw Tuna Salad Recipes

TUNA-STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS

Steps:

• Drain the tuna and put it in a medium mixing bowl. Use a fork to break tuna into large flakes and push to one side of the bowl.
• Put capers, parsley, mint, celery and onions on the other side of the bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add red-pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil, then stir the mixture to coat tuna well.
• Use a teaspoon to fill each pepper with some of the tuna mixture.
• Arrange stuffed peppers on lettuce leaves on a platter. Garnish with quartered or halved hard-cooked eggs sprinkled with salt. Serve at cool room temperature.

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS

Steps:

• To make the sauce: In a blender, drop in the tomatoes and garlic and blend until well chopped. Add the olive oil, white wine, and salt and blend until finely pureed; set aside.
• To make the stuffing: In a medium sized pot half filled with boiling water, boil the dried cod for about 10 minutes until rehydrated. Drain and put the codfish into a blender. Add the white wine, garlic, parsley, and salt and blend everything together. Then, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together the milk and flour. Add this mixture to the codfish mixture in the blender and puree until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes. Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat, pour in the codfish stuffing mixture, and cook just until the mixture is heated through. Put the mixture into a medium sized bowl and let it cool before stuffing the peppers.
• To stuff the peppers: With a small spoon, carefully stuff about 1/2 teaspoon of the codfish mixture inside each pepper. It should fill the pepper's cavity but should not be falling out. Continue until all the peppers have been filled.
• To finish the dish: In a large nonstick skillet on medium-low heat, add the sauce for the peppers. Then very carefully place each pepper in the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until heated through. Gently take each pepper out of the pan and place on a serving platter. Spoon the sauce over the peppers and garnish with 2 tablespoons chopped parsley.

SALAD-STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Place a large pot filled halfway with water over high heat and season generously with salt. Halve the lemon, then juice it and set aside 1 tablespoon juice. Add the lemon halves and the remaining lemon juice to the water. Crush 3 of the garlic cloves and add to the water. Cover and bring to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water.
• Prepare the peppers by slicing off just enough of the tops to reveal the seeds. Remove and discard the seed pockets and stems. Trim the bottom of the peppers as needed so they stand up on their own. Finely chop the pepper tops and add to a large bowl.
• Gently lower the pepper boats into the boiling water until fully submerged. Cook until just crisp tender, 4 to 6 minutes. The peppers should hold their shape and stand up straight. Once cooked, place the peppers in the ice bath to prevent further cooking, about 1 minute. Drain the peppers upside-down on a paper towel-lined plate to catch any water that remains inside.
• Meanwhile, place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and chorizo and cook until the chorizo is just fragrant and the oil has a red hue, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon to add the chorizo to the bowl with the chopped peppers. Add 2 teaspoons of the hot oil from the skillet to the bowl, reserving the rest. The chorizo will crisp as it cools.
• Place the skillet with the reserved oil over medium heat. Add the bread to the skillet in an even layer. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the bread is browned and toasted, about 5 minutes. Finely chop the remaining garlic clove. When the bread is nearly toasted, add the garlic to the skillet and toss until it is distributed through the toasted bread. Set aside.
• Add the kale, vinegar and the reserved 1 tablespoon lemon juice to the bowl. Massage until the kale is slightly softened and coated. Add the dates, olives, parsley and toasted bread and gently toss to combine.
• Place the peppers upright on a serving platter. Mound the salad into each pepper. Generously grate the cheese over the salad. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and serve immediately.