Sauteed Piquillos Recipes

SAUTEED SCALLOPS WITH A SPICY PIQUILLO PEPPER PUREE

Steps:

• Puree: Roughly chop the onions, garlic, peppers, piquillos, and cilantro; then add all puree ingredients into a food processor, except the olive oil and salt and pepper. Pulse several times until all ingredients have been finely diced. Once finely diced, slowly drizzle olive oil into food processor, while pulsing. Taste, add salt and pepper, as needed. Remove puree from processor and add to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to low.
• Scallops: Pat and dry scallops with paper towels; lightly season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over very high heat. In batches, cook scallops until golden brown and opaque throughout, about 2 minutes per side.
• Plate scallops on a white rectangular plate, lightly drizzle plate and scallops with piquillo pepper puree. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.

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.

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.

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.

SEA SCALLOPS WITH PIQUILLO PEPPERS

Steps:

• Turn the oven to 200 degrees. Warm the olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet and add the garlic. When it sizzles, add the peppers and cook, turning only once, until they shrivel a bit, about 5 minutes. Season, transfer to a serving platter, and put in the oven.
• Wipe out the skillet or use another one; preheat it for a couple of minutes over high heat. Add a not-too-thin film of oil and add the scallops one at a time; brown them well on the first side for as long as 5 minutes, adjusting the heat so they don't burn (which on my stove translates as "leave the heat on high"), then turn and brown lightly on the second. They should be firm but still quite moist in the middle. Season with salt and pepper and put on top of the piquillos. Return to the oven.
• Lower the heat a bit, add the wine (it will spatter) and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to release any brown bits. Taste that sauce and add salt and pepper, if necessary, then spoon over the scallops and piquillos, garnish with herbs and serve with a spoon.

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