This delicious preserve made with round, mild red chili peppers is the ideal appetizer for any occasion – one bite is never enough. Preparation is fast and requires few ingredients. Also, it can be stored for months. Here’s the classic recipe along with a few variations.
Chili peppers stuffed with tuna
To prepare the chili peppers you have to first clean them and remove the seeds, taking care not to break them. Then immerse them for 3-4 minutes in a boiling pot of white vinegar and white wine, along with black pepper, bay leaves, a few juniper berries and cloves. Let dry upside down on a clean cloth. Finally, fill them with a cream prepared by blending 3 1/2 ounces of tuna in oil, 3/4 ounce of anchovies and a handful of unsalted capers. If you prefer more textures, instead of blending, chop with a knife, then press the mixture inside the chili peppers. All that’s left at this point is to put everything in sterilized glass jars, fill with extra virgin olive oil almost to the top, close with the cap and sterilize in boiling water for about 30 minutes.
Stuffed chili peppers without cooking
This recipe requires no cooking time, and just 24 hours of waiting time. Simply leave the cleaned and seeded chili peppers to soak in vinegar for a whole day, then fill once drained and dried.
Chili peppers stuffed with tofu
A vegan version of the classic recipe. The tuna in the filling is replaced by tofu. Blend everything in the same way with capers, a clove of garlic and parsley and fill the chili peppers. If you don’t like tofu, another vegan variation can be made with black olives, capers, fresh oregano, thyme and breadcrumbs.
Chili peppers stuffed with cheese
Here’s another vegetarian (though not vegan) version of this recipe. The filling is made with cheese, specifically a mix of ricotta and goat cheese and flavored with chives, thyme and fresh oregano. A real delicacy with a subtle taste.
Chili peppers stuffed with anchovies
In this version, the filling is not creamy. Instead, the anchovies and capers should be put whole inside the peppers. If you like, you can also add pitted black olives and, of course, aromatic herbs of your choice.