Warm piquillo peppers stuffed with salt cod in a creamy sauce… This dish is so easy to make in advance so it is also the perfect starter for your next dinner party!
This is such a fun tapa to make if you have some guests over for dinner.
Warm piquillo peppers stuffed with salt cod in a creamy piquillo pepper sauce!
Have you ever come across these Spanish style peppers?
Piquillo Peppers
True, you can find these piquillo peppers stuffed with salt cod ready made in the freezer department here in Spain. But I just love making food from scratch if I have the time to do it.
Besides this homemade version below tastes way much better than the stuff from the freezer!
Easy Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Salt Cod
Pimientos del piquillo rellenos de bacalao.
That is what the Spanish call them.
These stuffed pepper are also served cold sometimes.
They are mainly stuffed with a tuna salad or cooked rice and vegetables. I like both. And just any version really. The cold ones are great finger food. And the warm peppers look stunning on the dinner table as a fish starter.
Make Ahead
Good to know.
You can prepare this baking dish full of stuffed peppers covered with sauce easily a couple of hours in advance. Just pop the dish in a hot oven or microwave when your guests are finishing their pre dinner drinks.
A couple of similar recipes I found online tell you to add a pinch of grated cheese (preferably cheddar cheese) to the warm sauce. That might sound a bit odd maybe, especially in combination with the fish.
But I have to admit that it is not a bad idea at all because it makes the sauce so extra creamy and savory. The cheese doesn’t overpower the flavor of the sauce.
Cheese
I usually like to add cheese when I have some in my fridge.
Do you need more piquillo pepper recipes?
Then you should also check out my pepper soup with feta cheese and chorizo!
Here are my piquillo peppers stuffed with salt cod…
Enjoy!
Easy Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Salt Cod Recipe
Warm piquillo peppers stuffed with salt cod in cream sauce!
- 4 canned piquillo peppers
- 10,5 oz salt cod (350 g, frozen, thawed
- 3 tbsp onion chopped
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 tsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp whole milk
- 2 to 3 tbsp cream
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp dry white wine
- pepper
- salt
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Add the onion and butter to a medium saucepan and place it over medium heat.
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Stir well and then let the onion gently fry in the melted butter for 6 minutes. Shred the thawed salt cod up and add this to the onion. Sprinkle with half of the flour. Season with a pinch of pepper and salt.
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Stir and mash up the salt cod. Sprinkle with the rest of the flour.
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Stir well again. Then pour in the milk.
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Mash the cod up into a thick paste (you can also puree the cod in a blender). Then check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. Take the cod off the heat and let it cool a little. Carefully rinse the canned peppers and pat them dry using kitchen paper. Then trim them nicely and keep the trimmings for the sauce.
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Fill the peppers up with the cod paste and place them in a baking dish.
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If you have some cod paste left, you can add it to the sauce. Place the tomato paste, white wine, cream, leftover cod paste and pepper trimmings to a blender. Then season with a pinch of pepper and salt.
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Blend into a smooth sauce. Pour it in a small saucepan and then gently warm it up over medium heat.
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Then pour it on top of the stuffed peppers. Warm the peppers for a couple of minutes in a hot oven or in the microwave. Serve hot.
