These are delicious and super easy to put together in advance. They will come to no harm in the fridge for a few hours but take them out about 30 minutes before you serve them so they’re not fridge cold. They look pretty piled into a bowl too.
Wine Suggestion: the hot peppers makes some wines, especially reds, taste a bit metallic. Sauvignon Blanc and Gruner Veltliner are the obvious match for the ingredients in this dish. However, as it’s Christmas and we’re in a celebratory mood we opened a Sparking Saumur and found that good bubbly makes a superb match too.
Preserved Peppers Stuffed with Goats’ Cheese & Pine Nuts – makes lots
- 400g jar Peppadew peppers (or other preserved mini red peppers)
- 300-400g soft goats’ cheese
- finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
- 1 heaped tsp of dried mint
- 30g of mint, leaves finely chopped
- 75g toasted pine nuts, roughly chopped
Drain the peppers and pat them dry with kitchen paper – be nice and gentle so they don’t tear.
Put the goats’ cheese, lemon zest, dried and fresh mint and chopped pine nuts into a bowl, season generously with black pepper and mix together with a fork.
Take a small plastic food bag and snip one of the bottom corners off with scissors. Spoon the cheese mixture into the bag (it’s easier if you do it a bit at a time) and use to pipe the mixture into the peppers.
Serve straight away or keep in the fridge until later.
(Original recipe from Feasts by Sabrina Ghayour, Mitchell Beazley, 2017.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 