Tapas Time with Stuffed Piquillo Peppers

Show: Chopped
piquillo peppers

Quinoa and Goat Cheese Piquillo Peppers w Zucchini Salsa

Photo by: Petrina Tinslay

Petrina Tinslay

Chopped Dinner Challenge

The Chopped Dinner Challenge is a series of recipes showing you how easy it is to cook like a winning Chopped competitor. Every week, FN Dish will showcase a recipe created by Food Network Kitchens that uses at least one of the Chopped basket ingredients, plus basic grocery goods and simple staples. Consider it your very own Chopped challenge. Just take this frequent tip from the judges: Don’t forget to season!

For this week's Chopped Dinner Challenge, the chefs of Food Network Kitchens chose to feature the basket ingredient piquillo peppers, which you've probably seen in jars on the supermarket shelf or in salad bars. These peppers have a pleasant sweet taste, so no heat, and even though they're relatively small in size (the name means "little beak" in Spanish), they're actually great for stuffing. Consider this recipe for Quinoa-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers a great tapas-style appetizer or light meal. The quinoa is packed with protein and the raw zucchini salsa is full of flavor. But best of all, the dish is simple to prepare, taking only 30 minutes.

First, before beginning the peppers, start by preparing the salsa. All you need to do is blend together zucchini, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. Then season it with salt and pepper.

Now it's onto stuffing the peppers. Cook the quinoa in salted boiling water, drain and toss with olive oil. Then fold in the crumbled goat cheese and raisins. Stuff each pepper with some of the mixture and place in a baking dish. Heat the peppers in the oven until the filling is just warmed through. Serve with the salsa and enjoy these Spanish-style tapas at home with your family.

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