A Tapas Mash-Up

lamb meatball-stuffed blistered peppers

In my last newsletter, I talked about how watching Jose Andres and his daughters eat their way through Spain sent me on a month-long tapas exploration. Tapas are my favorite way to eat; I love nibbling throughout the day on various snacks. In this edition, I combine two of my favorites into one super tapa: blistered peppers stuffed with lamb meatballs.  

Padron peppers are small, green peppers from Galicia found throughout Spain. They don't pack a lot of spice but have a delightful lingering grassy flavor that pops when cooked over high heat until softened. This is usually how the tapa is served, cooked in olive oil until browned and blistered, then finished with flaky salt. Padron peppers are hard to find here in the US, but shishitos make the perfect substitute. They share a similar flavor, but shishito peppers are usually larger than padrons, making them the ideal candidate for splitting in half and filling with my meatball mix. You can stuff any small pepper if you can't come by shishitos. Everything from mini sweet peppers to fiery jalapenos will work here.

Albondigas are Spanish meatballs. Meatball lore says that the Moors brought it to Spain during their rule from the 8th to the 15th centuries. The Moors also brought saffron and rice to Spain, eventually becoming paella. Albondigas are made by rolling seasoned pork, beef, or lamb into much smaller balls than their red sauce brethren. They are usually served in a cooked-down tomato sauce or a nutty romesco. Since we will cook the peppers over high heat (under the broiler or on a grill), I use a panade in my meatball mix to prevent drying. A panade is a mixture of bread and liquid used to prevent ground meat from getting too dry or crumbly when you cook it. As ground meat cooks, the proteins contract and force out moisture. The panade keeps the meatballs moist and tender by absorbing some of that liquid.  

My favorite thing about this tapa is that the pepper cup captures any moisture from the meatball while cooking, so you don't need to make a sauce. Stuffing a pepper is more manageable than rolling a bunch of tiny balls too. All you need to do is stuff the peppers, throw them on a tray, then broil them until the meat is brown and cooked and the peppers are lightly charred along the edges. A bonus: any leftovers make a great sandwich tucked into a fresh baguette with a smear of mayo.

PS: It's Top Chef Season, Baby!

Season 20 of Top Chef is finally upon us. I have watched every season of Top Chef since its inception more times than I feel comfortable sharing, but this is a season I have been looking forward to since I first heard about it. This season the contestants are winners and finalists from Top Chef competitions worldwide! It's interesting to hear about the differences between all the competitions. Chef Gabri, a contestant from Top Chef Mexico, was talking about how in their season, they didn’t need to do any shopping, and since he was making a 54-ingredient mole, he was struggling. And props to Chef Sara for pumping and overnighting breast milk to her 9-month-old baby back home! On the rice episode, I learned about a rice dish I had yet to hear of before, Ali's Jordanian lamb ouzi. He threw in a lump of lit coal while his rice cooked, imparting a delicate, smoky flavor. I have also seen my amu do this when making lamb biryani at home. It was exciting seeing this technique represented on Top Chef. Have you been watching the new season? Let me know your favorite chefs and thoughts in the comments!

PPS: Preorder My Book!

As mentioned last week, my cookbook Start Here is finally available to preorder! It’ll have science, techniques, photos, illustrations, and sooo many recipes (over 200). The official book birthday will be on Halloween, but preorders are super important (for production, distribution, and other publishing things I don’t understand). So if you do preorder, hold on to your receipt as I'll have some bonus content coming to you all to show my appreciation!

Preorder in the US

Preorder in the UK

Preorder in Canada

until next time,

sohla 

Lamb Meatball-Stuffed Blistered Peppers

makes a lot of tiny peps / active time: 1 hour / total time: at least 4 hours

INGREDIENTS

---

• ¾ cup breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs

• ½ cup milk or water

• 1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika

• 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 head garlic, cloves smashed, peeled, and finely chopped

• 1 pound ground lamb (or pork/chicken/beef) 

• 1 egg 

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 

• 12 ounces Padron, shishito, or mini sweet peppers

---

1. In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with the milk (or water) and mix with your hands until moistened and well incorporated. Set aside. 

2. In a small bowl, add the sweet paprika, smoked paprika, and pepper.

3. In a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat, add the oil and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, fragrant, and very lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the paprikas and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until sizzling and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Scrape into the breadcrumb mixture.

4. To the breadcrumb mixture, add the lamb, egg, and salt. Using your hands, knead together until well combined, slightly sticky, and springy, about 3 to 5 minutes. (Alternatively, combine the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and paddle together until well mixed and springy, about 1 minute.) Wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 24. 

5. Set the oven rack about 6 inches below the broiler. Heat the broiler to high. Line a sheet tray with foil (for easy clean up; skip if you prefer) and set a wire rack on top.

6. Cut each pepper in half lengthwise and use a small spoon (or grapefruit spoon if you have one) to scoop out the seeds. Fill each pepper with the lamb mixture and arrange in one layer on the prepared sheet tray.

7. Place under broiler and cook until browned and charred in some places, about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve right away while hot or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.

   

   Lamb Meatball Stuffed Blistered Peppers

   56.3KB ∙ PDF file

   Download

   Download