Pimientos del Piquillos Rellenos de Carne / Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Ground Meats

I have never liked stuffed bell peppers, but this is different. The piquillos are a mild red chili from the Navarra region of Spain. These peppers are stuffed with seasoned beef and pork and dipped in egg and fried. The filling is best started the day before to allow the meat to marinate.

Whole piquillo peppers

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp Parsley, chopped fine
• 1 tbsp Water
• ¼ lb Ground Beef
• ¼ lb Ground Pork
• 1 tbsp Jamon Serrano, finely chopped
• 1 Egg, whipped
• 1 ½ tsp Fine breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup Olive oil
• ¼ Onion, grated

Filling Mise en place
Front row: Ground beef and pork, onion, egg
Back row: Bread crumbs, parsley, Jamon Serrano, garlic

Making the Filling:

1. Mash the garlic and parsley in a mortar and pestle until a paste is formed.
2. Whip the egg until it has a uniform consistency and color.
   
3. Combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, and the parsley and garlic paste.
   
4. Mix thoroughly.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Grate the onion.
7. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
8. Sauté the onion and meat (breaking up the large pieces until done).
9. Remove from heat and set aside allowing to cool.
   

Stuffed Peppers:

• 5 oz. jar of Piquillos peppers (reserve brine for the sauce)
• ½ cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Egg
• 1 tblsp Milk
• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• Cooked meat filling cooled to room temperature

Sauce:

• ¼ cup Olive oil
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• Reserved Piquillos brine
• 1 ½ tsp Parsley, chopped fine
• ¼ Onion, grated
• 1 tbsp flour

Sauce Mise en place
Front row: Flour, garlic
Back row: Grated onion, parsley, olive oil, pepper brine

Creating the Sauce:

1. With a mortar and pestle mash the garlic and parsley until a paste is formed.
   
2. Heat the oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat.
3. Add the garlic and parsley paste to the sauce pan.
4. Sauté for a minute.
5. Add the grated onion and stir in the flour to mix thoroughly.
   
6. Add the pepper brine to the saucepan.
7. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
8. When a boil is achieved reduce heat to medium and simmer to thicken the sauce (about 20 minutes).

Finishing:

1. Combine the egg and milk and whisk until combined to a uniform consistency and color.
2. Rinse and dry the peppers.
3. Stuff the peppers with the cooked ground meat mixture.
4. Dredge the peppers with flour. Shake off excess flour.
   
5. Dip the peppers into the egg and milk mixture and coat thoroughly.
6. Dredge the peppers with flour again. Shake off excess flour.
7. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
8. When the oil is just below the smoking stage, add the peppers (do in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the pan).
9. Fry on both sides until the coating is golden and the filling is heated through (about four minutes per side).
10. Sauce the serving plate.
11. Place the finished peppers on the sauced plate.
12. Serve.

Frying the stuffed peppers.

Finished and plated stuffed peppers.

Review
Shirlee – Loved It
John - Liked It
Do Again – Yes
Leftovers – None

What I'll Do Next Time
Like most Spanish cooking this is mild on the seasoning side. We like a little more spice in our food. I may add some cayenne pepper to the filling to bring up the heat.