Prawn and fish stuffed piquillo peppers

Bellota's piquillo peppers, stuffed with a monkfish and prawn cream, are coated with a pepper and cream sauce, sprinkled with a little grated manchego and baked until the cheese deliciously crisps.

One of the original tapas bars in Auckland, Peter Gordon’s Bellota prides itself on authentic Spanish fare. These monkfish and prawn-stuffed piquillo peppers, created by head chef Ernest Pietx, are on the menu and they are popular with regulars frequenting this atmospheric Skycity venue.

This recipe is one of the 12 finalists of Bite's Estrella Damm Tapas Competition in 2014. Click here to see all of the finalists.

Bellota Tapas Bar, Skycity, 91 Federal Street, Auckland City

For the stuffed peppers

1	Onion, small-medium white fleshed, peel and diced
2 tsp	Olive oil
70 g	Monkfish fillets, boneless, diced (Main)
50 g	Prawns, peeled and diced (Main)
2 tsp	Cream
2 cans	Piquillo peppers, any seeds gently scraped (Main)
15 g	Manchego cheese, grated
1 to serve	Microgreens

For the sauce

3	Piquillo peppers, sliced
3 Tbsp	Cream

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C. Sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until just beginning to caramelise.Add the monkfish and prawns and cook for a few minutes until cooked through, stirring several times. Add the cream and cook until fully reduced
2. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3. Gently stuff the piquillo peppers with the mixture then sit them in an ovenproof dish with their peaks facing up like upended ice-cream cones.
4. For the sauce, bring the sliced piquillo peppers and cream to a boil, then simmer for a minute.
5. Puree and pass through a sieve.
6. Pour the sauce over the stuffed piquillo peppers and sprinkle with the grated cheese.
7. Bake in the oven until the cheese is crunchy
8. To serve, sprinkle the micro greens on top.