Goat Cheese-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers

This warm, cheesy appetizer packs an umami punch from dried porcini powder. It’s perfect for a small dinner party, or even just an afternoon snack.

Yield: about 12 stuffed peppers

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Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) jar/can piquillo peppers (you’ll use about 12 peppers per 4 oz. goat cheese)

• 4 oz. soft goat cheese

• 1/4 teaspoon dried porcini powder*

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• Kosher salt

• Fresh ground black pepper

• 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup raw almonds, chopped

• 1 lemon (for zesting)

• Aleppo pepper or red pepper flake (optional)

• Microplane (recommended)

Instructions

Line a 9” x 13” pan with parchment paper. Remove about 12 piquillo peppers from the jar and drain excess liquid. Stuff each pepper (through the opening at the top) with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of goat cheese. I think its easiest to cut thin slices from a log of goat cheese and slip the cheese slice into the pepper (of course, it’ll get a little messier as you go). Place the stuffed peppers on the parchment paper. Make Ahead: You can stuff the peppers with goat cheese up to 8 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the stuffed peppers and stash in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them.

Set the oven to broil. Sprinkle the tops of the stuffed peppers with dried porcini powder and garlic powder. Season the peppers with a small pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Slowly drizzle the olive oil over the tops of all the peppers (it will gather in the bottom of the pan as well - this is what we’re aiming for).

Broil the stuffed peppers for about 4 minutes, until the cheese begins to appear melted. Sprinkle the chopped almonds over the top of the peppers and broil for another 1-2 minutes, until the almonds begin to toast (keep an eye on them though, the almonds will burn quickly).

Remove the peppers from the oven and zest the lemon over the top of the peppers using a Microplane. Sprinkle with a bit of red pepper flake or aleppo pepper if you’d like. Serve warm on small plates, drizzling a bit of the oil and drippings from the bottom of the pan over the top of the peppers.

Notes

*To make dried porcini powder, grind dried porcini mushrooms in a clean spice/coffee grinder until you have a fine powder. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a year. The powder has so many great uses that it’s nice to have on hand. Rub it on steaks before they hit the grill, stir it into sauces, soups, and risottos, or mix it into fresh pasta dough.