Creamy Piquillo Pepper Stuffed Shells With Philadelphia Cream Cheese Food

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 CHORIZO AND MANCHEGO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large saute pan set over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and chorizo. Cook until well browned, 7 to 8 minutes, breaking up the chorizo with the back of a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, shallots, salt, pepper and chile flakes, and saute until the onions become translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool slightly. Add half of the Manchego, the breadcrumbs, half of the parsley and the cream cheese. Stir well to mix everything evenly. Using a medium spoon, carefully stuff each of the piquillo peppers with the filling. Arrange the stuffed peppers on a baking sheet and sprinkle with remaining Manchego. Bake in the center of the oven until the cheese melts and is slightly bubbly around the edges, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a platter and garnish with the remaining chopped parsley to serve.

PIQUILLO PEPPERS STUFFED WITH RAW TUNA SALAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, toss together the tuna, chopped parsley, scallions, olive oil, capers, mustard and chipotles. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Cut a slit in each of the roasted piquillo peppers and remove any excess juice from the inside. Carefully stuff the peppers with the tuna mixture until the pepper looks full. Garnish with parsley leaves.

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS WITH CHORIZO AND MANCHEGO

Steps:

• Coat a saute pan, over medium heat, with olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt, to taste, and toss in the crushed red pepper. Saute the onions until they are soft and very aromatic, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 to 3 more minutes. Stir in the chorizo and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the bread crumbs. Let the mixture cool. When cool, add the Manchego and parsley. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Stuff the peppers with the filling and arrange them on a sheet pan. If there is extra stuffing, press a little on top of each of the peppers. Put the peppers in the oven to warm through, about 8 minutes.
• While the peppers are in the oven, combine the arugula, almonds and scallions in a large bowl. Dress the salad with sherry vinegar, big fat finishing oil and salt, to taste. Check for seasoning and divide the salad between 4 serving plates.
• Remove the peppers from the oven and arrange 2 peppers on each salad. Serve while the peppers are warm.

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.

STUFFED PIQUILLOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Heat the olive oil in a small saute pan over medium-high heat until shimmering, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat for 30 seconds, shaking the pan to move around the garlic until it starts to turn golden. Add the panko and toast until crisp, stirring occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Season the panko with salt and pepper, toss with the parsley and let cool. Gently mix together the Manchego, mashed potatoes and chorizo and set aside. Stuff each pepper with 2 tablespoons of the mixture. Dip the opening of each pepper in panko, and then roll around in the panko to lightly coat. Lay out the peppers on the prepared baking sheet and bake until warmed through and the panko is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve hot or at room temperature.;
• Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water by about 1 inch and add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat, and then reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer briskly until fork tender, about 45 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/4 cup of the water. Return the potatoes to the pan. Shake the pan over medium heat for about a minute to dry the potatoes. Remove from the heat. Add the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and the reserved cooking water to the potatoes. Mash the potatoes, skins and all, with a traditional potato masher to an even consistency. Fold in the herbs and season with salt. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil.
• Yield: 4 to 6 servings

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS WITH GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Place goat cheese, scallions, mint, red-pepper flakes, and reserved piquillo liquid in a bowl. Zest and then juice lemons into the bowl, straining seeds. Mix until well combined.
• Using a small spoon, fill each pepper with about 2 tablespoons of the goat cheese mixture. Alternatively, pipe the mixture into the peppers. Place on a serving plate, and sprinkle with red-pepper flakes; garnish with spring onions if desired. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, about 1 hour.