Recipe: Pimientos Rellenos de Bacalao (Red Peppers Stuffed with Cod)

Pimientos Rellenos de Bacalao (Red Peppers Stuffed with Cod)

1/4 pound cod
8 red peppers
1 green pepper
1 white onion
olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
milk
tomato sauce
salt and black pepper

If your cod is 'salted', it will need to soak in water for 24 hours to remove the salt.

Cut the tops off the peppers. Remove the pith (white bits!) and the seeds from inside the peppers. Stand the peppers in a deep oven dish. If they refuse to stand up, cut a slice off the base of the pepper to form a flat bottom. The peppers can be 'microwaved' for 4 minutes to speed up cooking time later on.

Finely chop the green pepper and half the onion and fry them gently in some olive oil.

When they are just turning brown, add the small pieces of cod and continue to fry for 1 minute. Don't overcook the cod because it will cook in the oven later.

Melt 2 tablespoonfuls of butter in a pan, add 2 tablespoonfuls of flour and then add milk slowly, stirring all the time until a sauce is formed. Add a tiny pinch of salt. Now add this sauce to the cod and mix well in the frying pan.

With a spoon, fill the peppers with the cod mixture, place the tops back on the peppers and place in a pre-heated oven (190C -375F - gas mark 5) until the peppers are soft and well cooked. (30 minutes or 15 minutes if you microwaved them first). Cover with a lid or foil to prevent browning.

Place the other half of the onion and a tablespoonful of tomato sauce back in the residual liquid in the frying pan. Add a pinch of salt and ground black pepper. When the onion is soft and golden brown, place the mixture in a blender, mix well and then serve the filled peppers standing in the hot sauce.