Seared Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Roncal Cheese

José Andrés writes:
"Recently, it seems as though chefs are stuffing sweet piquillo peppers from Lodosa with every single thing you can imagine. Although many of the stuffings are tasty, they're also so complicated that they require a long cooking process. Here, the piquillo pepper is simply matched with a great cheese, used just as is. This is a tapa that home cooks can create without breaking a sweat."

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Pedro Ximénez (PX) vinegar or Spanish aged sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1/2 scallion (white part only), thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

8 piquillo peppers

4 ounces Roncal (Spanish sheep's milk cheese), cut into 2-inch sticks

Fresh thyme sprigs

Fresh parsley sprigs

Preparation:

- Whisk 4 tablespoons of the olive oil together with the vinegar, shallot and scallion in a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

- Cut a small slit into each piquillo pepper and slide a stick of cheese into each.

- Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over high heat.

- Add the peppers and brown on both sides until the cheese begins to melt, about 30 seconds.

- Transfer the peppers to a serving platter, drizzle with dressing, and sprinkle with leaves from the thyme and parsley sprigs.

- Serve immediately.

From 'MADE IN SPAIN' - Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen' by José Andrés with Richard Wolffe