If you’ve never had Peppadews before, they are sweet little peppers from South Africa. You can usually buy them pickled or brined, much like olives, and they have a sweet flavor with a subtle little kick.
I first came across this dish at Fireside Pies in Dallas, TX, which serves them as an appetizer. I decided to recreate it here and what I love most is that it’s an easy appetizer that can be made a few hours in advance and put in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Just a heads up – a jar of peppadews will cost about $10/lb. so they aren’t cheap, but these little bite sized nuggets are worth every penny!
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Goat Cheese Peppadew Peppers
Course: AppetizersCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings2
hours40
minutesIngredients
- Spiced Candied Pecans
1/2 cup 1/2 Confectioners’ sugar
3/4 tsp 3/4 kosher salt
1/2 tsp 1/2 cayenne pepper
4 tsp 4 water
2 cups 2 pecans
- Goat Cheese Peppadew Peppers
6 oz. 6 goat cheese, softened and at room temperature
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp 2 fresh basil, chives thyme or other fresh herbs, chopped
2 tbsp 2 heavy cream or half-and-half
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 jar 1 peppadew peppers
1 jar 1 cilantro pesto
spiced candied pecans, crumbled
Directions
- Spiced Candied Pecans
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the Confectioners’ sugar, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, and water.
- Add the pecans to the sugar mixture and stir until the nuts are evenly coated.
- Transfer the pecans to the prepared baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. Do your best to make sure the nuts are evenly spread out (if they are clumped together, they won’t cook evenly). Scrape out every last bit of glaze from the bowl and drizzle over the nuts. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the pecans are caramelized and the caramel on the baking sheet is a rich brown color but not burnt. (The nuts around the edges will darken first; watch closely so they don’t burn.)
- Immediately slide the parchment off of the hot baking sheet and allow the pecans to cool completely on the countertop (this stops the cooking process and prevents the nuts from burning). Once cool, remove the pecans from the parchment, breaking apart any clusters if necessary.
- Crumble enough pecans to use as toppings for this dish and store remainder in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- Goat Cheese Peppadew Peppers
- In a bowl, combine goat cheese with minced garlic and chopped fresh herbs, stirring until evenly incorporated. Add heavy whipping cream or half-and-half as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time to thin out filling if necessary.
- The filling should be the consistency of buttercream frosting. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Fill each peppadew pepper with about 1/2 teaspoon of filling. It might be helpful to load the filling into a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip, which makes it very easy to fill each pepper completely full.
- Top with cilantro pesto and crumbled spiced candied pecans.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 hours, let it come to room temperature for 15 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
- If the nuts are sticky after cooling, that means they are a bit undercooked. Pop them back in the oven for a few minutes and let cool again.
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