Stuffed Pepper Hors d'oeuvre

The Piccolo Gourmet returns to its roots and created something Euro-Mediterranean. 

Our CSA box this week was packed with goodies: Kale, Petite Sweet Peppers, and the list goes on! Because of this, we rapidly had to use up vegetables we bought earlier in the week. (As well as our fresh cheeses that only have a 3-4 day shelf life.) What to do?

The petite peppers reminded me of when I was living in Spain. A popular tapa we had was pimientos de padrón, which were char-blistered peppers brushed with olive oil and sea salt. I don't drink beer, but on the rare occasions that I did, this was a great paring. At my friend's house, we used to do a variation: We sliced pieces of manchego, stuffed the pepper, and then charred the peppers on his grill. 

Tonight, however, the cheeses we had on hand were French, not Spanish. But why not try a French variation on my original recipe? I made a quick mirepoix (how French, right?) of the carrots, celery, and shallot that were low on shelf life. To this, I added our reminder of fresh spinach to wilt. When this was all done, I chopped the mixture finely in a food processor. This was combined with the remainder of my Fromage Blanc to make a stuffing similar in looks to a New York bagel spread.

Put the de-seeded, stuffed peppers on a foiled cookie sheet. Drizzle lightly with some olive oil and flip to coat. Place this under your broiler for 10 minutes and let the blistering begin. Remove from the oven when the dark char-marks begin to form. Sprinkle with sea salt and let it rest 5 minutes before serving. 

Spanish tapa meets French hors d'oeuvre: Bon Appétit and Buen Provecho from the Piccolo Gourmet!