Piquillo peppers stuffed with cod

How to make peppers stuffed with cod .

A recipe with fish in a format that I assure you will like the youngest at home … and the not so little, peppers stuffed with cod .

The piquillo pepper is a variety of peppers not very large, usually red, and characterized by having a meat so firm that it accepts almost any type of filling without breaking.

Although it is typical of Lodosa (Navarra) where it is protected under a designation of origin, today a lot of product from China is marketed canned in our country.

At home we usually buy it mainly in canned food after being roasted and peeled, we consume a lot of them, although the piquillo peppers compete directly with the red and roasted peppers that my mother makes.

They can be purchased in pieces (it is cheaper) although to prepare this recipe it is necessary to be whole. The firmer and thicker the meat of the pepper, the easier it will be to work with it without breaking it when filling it.

It can be filled with any product that our imagination suggests. They are typical are the black pudding stuffed peppers   ,  with minced meat or the famous prawn stuffed peppers , perfect for a party meal. But above all they are famous for the preparation that we bring today, the  piquillo peppers stuffed with cod .

A tasty recipe and suitable for any time of the year, although they are surely prepared more frequently at Easter .

I assure you that they are delicious, I hope you like them and you will prepare them at home.

Preparation of peppers stuffed with cod

1. Finely chop the onions and carrots in the sauce and sauté them in a large saucepan with a generous stream of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.
2. We remove so that they do not burn or brown.
3. When they begin to take color, we toss the crumbled toast and mix.
4. We add the wine and allow a few minutes to lose the alcohol.
5. Then we cover with 3 glasses of hot water, bring to a boil and let it cook for half an hour at a minimum until everything is well cooked, if we see that it runs out of any liquid we add a little more water.
6. After this time we crush it well with a mixer or mash and bring it back to a boil until it reduces a little more.
7. We rectify salt (if you like the touch of black pepper, it’s time to add it). Stir well and reserve.
8. Place the cod in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. At the time the water boils, remove.
9. We carefully remove the skin and bones from the cod and crumble it. We reserve.

Preparation of the cream and the filling of the peppers

1. In a large skillet, fry an onion in the butter over low heat and taking care not to brown it.
2. When the onion is transparent add 50 grams of flour and stir for 2 minutes so that the flour is cooked over a low heat in the butter.
3. We add the cold milk (all together) and stir constantly until the flour dissolves in the milk.
4. Although at first it seems that there will be lumps it will end up dissolving completely and there will be a creamy béchamel .
5. Add the crumbled cod and continue stirring to integrate all the flavors.
6. Add a pinch of nutmeg and rectify with salt.
7. Remove from the heat and let it warm in the pan.
8. Fill the piquillo peppers with the mixture helped by a spoon.
9. We pass the peppers by flour, then by beaten egg and fry them in abundant hot oil until golden.
10. We leave them for a few minutes on kitchen paper to drain the oil well and we place them in a dish suitable for the oven.

Baking and final presentation of the peppers stuffed with cod

1. We preheat the oven for 5 minutes at 200º C with heat above, below and hot air.
2. We cover the peppers with the onion and carrot sauce.
3. We let them heat in the oven, in the central position for 15 minutes at 180º C.
4. We serve them very hot accompanied by sauce. Do not forget to put a large piece of bread on the table, the sauce is glorious.
5. They can be accompanied by white rice , simple fried potatoes, cooked or roasted or simply with your favorite salad . Either option is good.

A very economical recipe because all the ingredients are very affordable and the cheapest cuts of cod can be used, since it is incorporated into the recipe crumbly.

I encourage you to visit more recipes for tapas, snacks and pinchos  perfect for an unforgettable evening. Follow the step by step of this recipe for peppers stuffed with cod and they will be perfect for you.