Tuna-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1(6- to 7-ounce) jar high-quality Spanish or Italian tuna
- 1tablespoon small capers or roughly chopped large capers
- 2tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1teaspoon chopped mint
- ¼cup celery, tender center stalks and leaves
- ½cup finely diced red onion or chopped scallions
- Salt and pepper
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1teaspoon lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 12piquillo peppers, from a jar
- Lettuce leaves, for garnish (optional)
- Hard-boiled eggs, cooked for 8 minutes, for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
149 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 681 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Drain the tuna and put it in a medium mixing bowl. Use a fork to break tuna into large flakes and push to one side of the bowl.
- Step 2
Put capers, parsley, mint, celery and onions on the other side of the bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add red-pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil, then stir the mixture to coat tuna well.
- Step 3
Use a teaspoon to fill each pepper with some of the tuna mixture.
- Step 4
Arrange stuffed peppers on lettuce leaves on a platter. Garnish with quartered or halved hard-cooked eggs sprinkled with salt. Serve at cool room temperature.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
S. García
I love piquillo peppers and wish they were more widely available. I often make this recipe (more or less), and at times substitute crab meat for the tuna. For those not averse to cilantro, it makes a nice variation to parsley. When the peppers are plated, a lovely sauce consists of 1/2 mayo and 1/2 dry sherry, with a 1/4 teaspoon or so of smoked paprika (pimentón), which can be drizzled over the stuffed peppers. I like to serve on a bed of baby arugula.
Katie
Since I could not find piquillo peppers, I tossed fresh mini peppers with extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic power and dried oregano and broiled them until tender and just beginning to char, about 2 minutes on each side. I let them cool and then stuffed with the tuna filling exactly as directed. The peppers were FANTASTIC!. Highly recommended.
helga gomes
In my home state of Goa, India we use rich, less bony fish like mackerel etc. In a bit of olive oil cook any fish+onions+garlic+ cumin+black pepper and some hot chilies - green preferably to kill the strong smell. Cook for 10 min and then remove bones - mix well and add fresh cilantro. This is your base. You can make fish cakes (add an egg, form into round cakes, cover with panko/breading/semolina), fish pie (with boiled eggs) with a regular crust, stuff peppers like above- anything you wish
K
This works beautifully with a tin of boneless, skinless sardines in place of the tuna. I added a chopped egg to the mixture instead of using it as a condiment. I also replaced the olive oil with a dab of mayonnaise to make a sandwich, but it was so good that next time I'll definitely try the stuffed peppers using olive oil. Very tasty.
Figaro
I used a 5 oz can of Genoa tuna in olive oil and just a bit less of all the other ingredients. I had a jar in the fridge with 8 peppers and it all fit just right. In lieu of extra oil, I added the tuna without draining. (Easy on the red peppers: ½ tsp is a bit excessive; I subbed Aleppo pepper) You could call this a panty recipe as I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Call this meal all gone. Thank goodness there is a David Tanis!
Flavia
I found that draining the peppers a day in advance, and briefly patting them dry with a paper towel just before stuffing them prevents them from releasing too much liquid on the serving tray. Arranging them on a bed of lettuce also helps with the draining, which otherwise creates a small pool of liquid under each stuffed pepper.
Jane
This has been a favorite since my youth, when I was traveling in Spain. FYI, DeLallo, a brand that many large supermarket chains carry in the ‘Italian specialty’ section, does in fact sell very excellent piquillo peppers in jars. Though beware, their ‘grilled peppers’ appear almost the same, spread carefully. Generally I find myself preferring pantry to panty meals, but that is just my take.
Patty Fabian
How much tuna?
Emily
Great recipe! I think using fresh ingredients means relying more on taste to get the right balance, and the recipe amounts a good starting place. Fresh ingredients' taste vary so much over the season. I used about 3 times the lemon juice/zest and mint indicated. I grow lovage in my herb garden. It looks like Italian parsley and tastes like great celery. I added in about 2 TBSP chopped along with the celery. If you find lovage starts at your nursery, give it a try!
m.a. w. (EXPAT)
At the time ONE GOOD DIShH was published, I was introduced to David Tanis, through COOKING, and now have four of his cookbooks, I went on to introduce him to my Dutch friends. I am making the piquillos again today. They are tasty and interesting. That is his talent to make the simple interesting and the interesting simple.
LindaL
I could not find piquillo peppers, so I used small fresh sweet peppers roasted in the oven. Very good.
Sue
I trimmed the ends of the piquillo peppers and then let them drain, standing them up on the cut edges on a paper towel. I ended up using twice as much lemon juice and mint to get a taste I liked.
Flavia
I found that draining the peppers a day in advance, and briefly patting them dry with a paper towel just before stuffing them prevents them from releasing too much liquid on the serving tray. Arranging them on a bed of lettuce also helps with the draining, which otherwise creates a small pool of liquid under each stuffed pepper.
jfarrington
Very flavorful and pretty! I had two jars of peppers, but the peppers in one jar were too small and so roasted they fell apart when stuffed. The larger ones required a fork, but were much more easily stuffed and pretty on a plate!
jhawker
Two 5 oz cans of tuna make ca. 18 mini peppers
Luisa Montes
The best stuffed piquillo peppers, Martinez Bar , 31 de Agosto, San Sebastian , Spain
Luisa Montes
Mayonnaise can be added to the mixture. Similar to a tartar sauce.
Katie
Since I could not find piquillo peppers, I tossed fresh mini peppers with extra virgin olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic power and dried oregano and broiled them until tender and just beginning to char, about 2 minutes on each side. I let them cool and then stuffed with the tuna filling exactly as directed. The peppers were FANTASTIC!. Highly recommended.
Purvis
Unfortunately this dish fell flat for me. I had all the ingredients on hand and followed the recipe exactly. Without a binder of some sort the tuna mixture does not hold together and the flavors are muddled and lacking in character. It wasn’t unpleasant, just dull. Pretty to look at, but next time I’d prefer a smoother mixture stuffed into the peppers to allow them to hold together when eaten or a simpler mixture with fewer ingredients and bolder flavor to compliment the piquillos.
Figaro
I used a 5 oz can of Genoa tuna in olive oil and just a bit less of all the other ingredients. I had a jar in the fridge with 8 peppers and it all fit just right. In lieu of extra oil, I added the tuna without draining. (Easy on the red peppers: ½ tsp is a bit excessive; I subbed Aleppo pepper) You could call this a panty recipe as I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Call this meal all gone. Thank goodness there is a David Tanis!
helga gomes
In my home state of Goa, India we use rich, less bony fish like mackerel etc. In a bit of olive oil cook any fish+onions+garlic+ cumin+black pepper and some hot chilies - green preferably to kill the strong smell. Cook for 10 min and then remove bones - mix well and add fresh cilantro. This is your base. You can make fish cakes (add an egg, form into round cakes, cover with panko/breading/semolina), fish pie (with boiled eggs) with a regular crust, stuff peppers like above- anything you wish
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