Piquillopepperketchup Recipes

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS

Steps:

• For the stuffed piquillo peppers: Pat the peppers with a paper towel to remove any excess brine. Trim the tops of the peppers.
• In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, manchego, chives, honey, lemon zest and juice, paprika, 2 tablespoons of the reserved piquillo brine and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and white pepper. Mix together with a rubber spatula until well combined and smooth.
• Put the mixture in a piping bag or a zip-close bag with a corner snipped off, and pipe it into the peppers, stopping 1/4 inch from the top. Refrigerate until 20 minutes before serving.
• For the herb vinaigrette: Bring the sherry vinegar, honey and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir a few times until the honey and salt have completely dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the golden raisins, and let cool completely, about 15 minutes. Stir in the chives, mint, parsley and 3 tablespoons of the reserved piquillo brine.
• To serve: Spread half of the vinaigrette over a serving plate and arrange the stuffed peppers on top. Spoon the remaining vinaigrette over the peppers. Garnish with the almonds and serve immediately.

PIQUILLO PEPPERS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Whisk shallots, scallion and vinegar in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Slice open the top of each pepper to create a pocket. Spoon cheese into peppers, dividing it equally among them. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat; coat with cooking spray. Cook peppers, flipping once, until cheese begins to melt, about 30 seconds each side. Transfer to a platter. Sprinkle with parsley and thyme. Drizzle dressing over peppers and serve.

IN-A-PINCH KETCHUP

Steps:

• Mix together the tomato paste, white vinegar, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, allspice, salt, molasses, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan over low heat; simmer gently until you get the consistency of ketchup, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Taste and adjust salt if necessary before serving.

PIQUILLO PEPPER KETCHUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, peppers, vinegar, honey, garlic, thyme and salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer, uncovered until very thick, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
• In a food processor, puree until smooth and adjust seasoning as needed.
• Transfer to a container and stir in the remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil.

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.

PIQUILLO PEPPER CHEESE CROSTINI

Steps:

• Combine first 5 ingredients in processor. Blend until almost smooth. Add all cheeses and 1 tablespoon oil; process until blended. Transfer to small bowl; season with salt and generous amount of pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Arrange baguette slices in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet; brush slices with oil. Bake until golden at edges, about 15 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Place bowl with cheese spread in center of platter. Surround with toasts.
• Sweet smoked Spanish paprika (sometimes labeled Pimentón Dulce or Pimentón de La Vera Dulce) and hot smoked Spanish paprika (sometimes labeled Pimentón Picante or Pimentón de La Vera Picante) are available at specialty foods stores and from tienda.com. Sweet smoked paprika (labeled "smoked paprika") can be found at some supermarkets.

PIQUILLO PEPPERS STUFFED WITH BRANDADE

Steps:

• Soak salt cod in cold water to cover for about 12 hours, changing the water twice during this period. Divide peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme into two batches, and wrap each in cheesecloth to make sachets. Reserve one clove of garlic, then slice the head in half crosswise.
• Pour cream into a small saucepan, and add half a head of garlic. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to a minimum and infuse for 45 minutes. At the same time, pour 1/4 cup of olive oil into a small saucepan and add the other half head of garlic. Heat until garlic starts to sizzle, reduce heat to very low and infuse for 45 minutes. Strain cream and oil separately, and keep them warm.
• When the garlic and the cream have infused for 30 minutes, combine 2 cups of the milk, a herb sachet and the cod in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook until cod flakes easily, about 15 minutes. While cod simmers, cook potatoes with remaining milk and herb sachet. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
• Drain cod and potatoes, discard sachets, and transfer to a food processor. With machine running, slowly add the infused oil, followed by the cream. Pulse until smooth, then season with white pepper to taste. Use a small spoon or piping bag to stuff 8 of the peppers with this mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve. (You can prepare the dish several hours in advance up to this point.)
• Cut remaining piquillos into thin strips; crush and peel the reserved garlic clove. Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over moderate heat. Add the sliced piquillos, red pepper, shallot and garlic to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and saute for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring. Add 2 tablespoons water, cover pan and lower heat. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until vegetables are completely tender. Discard garlic, transfer the mixture to a blender, and puree, then strain through a sieve and keep warm.
• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add stuffed peppers, and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes. Ladle pepper puree onto 4 plates, and top with 2 peppers each; then serve.

PIQUILLO PEPPER AND CHEESE TOASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush both sides of baguette slices with 2 tablespoons oil. Toast on a rimmed baking sheet until crisp, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Stuff each pepper with a cheese square. Place 1 stuffed pepper on each toast. Bake until cheese melts, 8 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Garnish with scallion.