Tuna-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers Recipe (2024)

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

How much tuna?

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!

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.

I could not find piquillo peppers, so I used small fresh sweet peppers roasted in the oven. Very good.

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.

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.

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!

Two 5 oz cans of tuna make ca. 18 mini peppers

The best stuffed piquillo peppers, Martinez Bar , 31 de Agosto, San Sebastian , Spain

Mayonnaise can be added to the mixture.Similar to a tartar sauce.

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.

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.

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!

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

Blackened, seeded and skinned poblano peppers taste better than piquillo peppers with the stuffing mixture.