Spanish Stuffed Peppers Recipe

A Spanish stuffed peppers recipe will be more authentic if you use Spanish peppers instead of the "standard" red bell pepper that is usually associated with stuffed peppers. 

Spanish peppers are known as piquillo peppers which are a variety of chili pepper traditionally grown in northern Spain.

You can make vegetarian stuffed peppers using piquillo peppers to make great tapas or a quick appetizer that you can serve at your next party. 

Or you could stuff the piquillo peppers with chorizo sausage and rice to make a meat lover's Spanish stuffed peppers recipe.

Spanish Stuffed Peppers Recipe
- Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

  • Jar of Whole Piquillo Peppers
  • 8 oz. Softened Chevre Goat Cheese
  • 1 tsp. Organic Orange Zest (minced)
  • 1 tsp. Ground Cumin
  • Sea Salt & Black Pepper (to taste)
  • 1 Tbsp. of Fresh Organic Orange Juice

Instructions:

  1. Mix the softened goat cheese with the seasoning and citrus flavors.
  2. Then put the soft cheese mixture into a piping bag and pipe the cheese into whole piquillo peppers.
  3. If you don't have a piping bag, you can use a ziploc bag with a corner cut off instead.
  4. Fill the peppers to 1/2 - 2/3 full - so your able to close the tops of the peppers by pressing the tops together.
  5. Put a few stuffed peppers on a plate (per serving) and drizzle on toppings that accentuate the flavors of these vegetarian stuffed peppers.

Spanish Peppers aka Piquillo Peppers

Spanish peppers are called Piquillo which means little beak. And they are typically about 2 inches in length and have a triangular shape.

In Spain, these peppers are often served as tapas stuffed with rice, meat, cheese, or seafood.  Piquillo peppers have a rich sweet-spicy taste and are quite different from the roasted red bell peppers.

Spanish peppers are hand-picked and roasted in a traditional way. They are then peeled and seeded before they are packed into a jar or tin. 

I would buy them in jars instead of in a tin to get the most flavor and to avoid heavy metals. 

Spanish Stuffed Peppers Recipe
- Chorizo Sausage & Rice

Ingredients:

  • 8 to 9 oz. of Raw Chorizo Sausage (remove casing)
  • Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 Organic Green Onions (chopped)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Cooked White Rice
  • 4 oz. of Creamy Goat Cheese
  • 3 Organic Garlic Cloves (crushed)
  • Organic Parsley (finely chop)
  • Sea Salt & Black Pepper (to taste)
  • Cayenne & Ground Cumin (to taste)
  • Organic Blood Orange (for the zest & juice)
  • 1 large Free Range Egg
  • 12 Whole Piquillo Peppers
  • Handful Chopped Organic Almonds

Instructions:

  1. Cook raw chorizo and green onions in olive oil on medium to med-high heat until sausage is browned - turn off heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
  2. Add cooked rice, soft cheese, crushed garlic, chopped parsley, cayenne, black pepper, salt, and ground cumin to a bowl.
  3. Then mix in the browned meat, a little zest, and the raw egg - mix thoroughly.
  4. Stuff the piquillo peppers with the meat and rice mixture using a spoon to fill each pepper.  Then add the stuffed peppers (in a single layer) to a greased oven proof pan. 
  5. Top with chopped almonds and a drizzle of olive oil - bake at 350 to 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. 
  6. Take stuffed peppers out of the oven and drizzle a little blood orange juice and olive oil on top to liven up this dish.
  7. Garnish this Spanish stuffed peppers recipe with freshly chopped parsley.

I love the presentation of a piquillo stuffed peppers recipe which offers many different types of stuffed pepper appetizers or tapas.

When you make the chorizo sausage and rice stuffed peppers recipe, be sure to use a good quality sausage to get the best results.

Grass fed bison or buffalo meat has a sweeter taste than most other meats and bison chorizo may actually be the better fit for this type of recipe.

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