Piquillo peppers stuffed with tuna mayonnaise, onion and chives

This dish holds a special place in Marcelo Munoz's heart. His mother used to make it for family gatherings that he and his sister would polish off before the party even started! It lives on today with the addition of piquillo peppers as a Spanish tapa at Marcelo's restaurant, Bar Louise in Sydney's Enmore.

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 tin good-quality piquillo peppers, drained
• 450 g tin good-quality tuna in oil, drained
• 6 tbsp whole egg mayonnaise
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 small bunch chives, finely chopped
• Sea salt flakes
• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread out the drained piquillo peppers in a single layer, then bake for 5 minutes, to dry out completely, then remove and allow to cool.
   
2. To a medium bowl, combine the tuna, mayonnaise and onion and use a fork to break up the tuna chunks. Add the oregano, half the lemon juice and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and use a wooden spoon to mix well to combine. Season to taste and adjust the mixture to your preference. Transfer the tuna filling to a piping bag.
   
3. Pipe the tuna filling into the piquillo peppers all the way to the top, then dip the top end of the tuna filling into the finely chopped chives. Transfer the filled peppers to a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining lemon juice, an extra drizzle of olive oil and season with a pinch of sea salt flakes.

Note

• Roasting your own piquillos is optional and can be done ahead of time. This removes some of the taste of being “preserved” in a can/jar and intensifies the piquillo pepper taste.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.