Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Shrimp

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Shrimp Stuffed Piquillo Peppers


Stuffed Peppers
1 can wood roasted (asados con leña) piquillo peppers (approximately 12 ounces) - available from La Tienda, see our link below
1 small onion, minced (or onion powder)
1 dash garlic powder
1 small carrot, finely shredded
2 tablespoons butter
1¼ pounds large, raw peeled shrimp, chopped into pieces the size of corn kernels
2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg

White Sauce for the Stuffing
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup milk

Saffron Cream Sauce
1 bottle clam juice
1 pint heavy cream
1 bay leaf
1 very large pinch saffron threads, roasted and powdered
2 tablespoons Spanish brandy

Make the white sauce by preparing a roux of butter and flour. Add the milk while whisking briskly, and simmer until thickened, whisking all the while. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, while preparing the shrimp.

Saute the onion and carrot in the butter until the onion turns translucent. Mix the vegetables with the chopped shrimp. Add the garlic powder, white sauce and beaten egg. Season with pepper. Mix thoroughly. Stuff the peppers with the shrimp mixture, and arrange in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 325º until done (20-30 minutes). Cover if necessary to prevent drying out.

While the peppers are baking, prepare the saffron sauce. Heat the clam juice with the bay leaf, and boil slowly until the volume is reduced by half. Remove bay leaf. With the heat on low, add the brandy and light with a match (Stand back, the flames will leap high, and it will burn for quite a while.). Allow the flames to burn out. Add the cream and the saffron. Simmer until the sauce thickens a bit. Place a bit of sauce on each serving plate and put the stuffed peppers on top of it. Serve immediately while still hot.

Note: You could also substitute hake, fresh cod, or monkfish (rape in Spanish and pixin in Asturian) for the shrimp. Two peppers per person would make a good appetizer. The peppers are fine reheated in a microwave the next day, but the sauce does not reheat well. It tastes fine, but curdles.

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