Goat Cheese Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Sherry-Honey Drizzle

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Jarred piquillo peppers are the shortcut that makes this tapa a 20-minute affair: they're already fire-roasted, peeled and sweet, so all you do is pipe them full of whipped goat cheese, warm them under the broiler until the filling slumps, and finish with a sharp sherry vinegar and honey drizzle. Serve them hot from the pan with crusty bread and a glass of something cold and Spanish.

Ingredients

• 12 whole jarred piquillo peppers (about one 12 oz jar), drained
• 8 oz soft goat cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp cream cheese or whole-milk ricotta
• 1 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 pinch kosher salt

• 2 tbsp marcona almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or snipped chives
• flaky sea salt
• crusty bread or grilled baguette, for serving

Instructions

1. Set an oven rack about 6 inches below the broiler element and heat the broiler to high. Line a small rimmed baking sheet or ovenproof skillet with foil and brush it lightly with olive oil.
2. Drain the piquillos and lay them on a paper towel–lined plate, cavity side down, for 5 minutes. Pat the insides dry with a corner of paper towel — dry peppers hold the filling and won't water down the finished dish. Discard any that are badly torn, or patch them by nesting two together.
3. In a medium bowl, mash the goat cheese, cream cheese, and cream together with a fork or a flexible spatula until completely smooth and pipeable, about 1 minute. Stir in the grated garlic, thyme, lemon zest, smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper.
4. Scrape the filling into a piping bag or a zip-top bag with a 1/2-inch corner snipped off. Holding a pepper open in one hand, pipe in about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling, working it gently to the tip so the pepper plumps but does not split. Set each filled pepper on the prepared pan, seam side up, with the opening pinched loosely closed.
5. Whisk the vinaigrette: combine the sherry vinegar, honey, Dijon, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl, then stream in the 3 tablespoons olive oil while whisking until glossy and slightly thickened. Taste — it should be brightly sweet-sour. Set aside.
6. Broil the peppers 4 to 6 minutes, until the cheese is visibly softened and puffed, the pepper edges are blistered in spots, and any exposed filling is lightly browned. Watch closely from minute 3; broilers vary and the honey-sweet peppers can char fast.
7. Slide the peppers onto a warm serving plate. Whisk the vinaigrette again and spoon it generously over and around them. Scatter with chopped marcona almonds, parsley, and a little flaky salt, and serve immediately with bread for mopping the plate.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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