Tuna stuffed piquillo peppers are a traditional Spanish tapas dish that are really easy to make. The great thing about them, aside from being ready in under 15 minutes, is they are quite a substantial dish, given the protein from the tuna. The key to this dish, as with many simple Spanish recipes, is using really good quality ingredients. A great way of serving these is as a montadito, on a slice of toasted baguette.
Serves 2-4 as a starter (About 8-10 montaditos)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 finely chopped shallot or red onion
salt and pepper for seasoning
1 baguette, sliced (if using)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
In a small bowl, mix together the tuna, mayo, oil, lemon juice, chopped parsley and onion. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Carefully stuff each pepper with the mixutre using a small teaspoon. Don't stuff too much or they will split.
Meanwhile, slice your baguette into chunky pieces and lay on your baking tray. Toast in the oven for about 5 minutes until the bread is a bit crunchy.
Let the bread cool slightly and top each piece with the stuffed pepper.
To serve, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with parsely.
Often in Spain you'll see these topped with a dollop of alioli. Here's a link to a good alioli recipe or you can save yourself some time by buying a good jarred alioli.