Gluten-free Jalapeno Poppers
Photography by Simeon Crofts
DIETARY – Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Nut-free
Jalapeño poppers are something of a family tradition for us. Every Christmas Eve my family lays on an indulgent spread of hot and cold finger foods: cheese and biscuits, garlic dough balls, roasted meats, prawn toasts… it’s quite the international banquet! One food we always cook a double portion of is jalapeño poppers (shop-bought, I have to confess) - my dad, husband and I simply adore spicy food and always look forward to these Mexican treats. For some unknown reason, as much as we love them, we seem only to eat the spicy stuffed peppers during the festive season, and since my husband was diagnosed with celiac disease, we haven’t had them at all. I decided they’re too delicious to pass up so I began to develop a gluten-free recipe we could recreate at home to enjoy at any time of the year.
A member of the capsicum family, jalapeños are moderately spicy, crunchy green peppers that are delicious pickled, stuffed, sliced in a burrito or chopped in a salsa. I tried this recipe a few different ways, including without adding any additional flavouring to the cheese or breadcrumbs, and it was quite bland. I found it really needed the extra herbs and spices, mainly to boost the flavour of the cheese that oozes out with each bite. I also tried leaving a couple of the seeds in the jalapeños to make them spicier, which I really liked, but if you’re not a fan of really spicy food, make sure you scrape out all of the seeds as they add an intense kick of heat.
Unlike many other chilli peppers, jalapeños are quite mild, but if you find the poppers are still a little on the hot side for your taste, serve them with a refreshing sour cream dip. I personally like to serve mine with sour cream and a sprinkling of fresh coriander over the top of the poppers. You can also serve them with a homemade salsa or herb relish.
Typically served as a starter, snack or side dish as they can be eaten easily with your hands, jalapeño poppers are a moreish crowd-pleaser that will go down well as a pre-dinner nibble or spicy side with a Mexican feast. If you don’t want to fry the poppers you can bake them in the oven for around 20 minutes for a healthier, slightly easier alternative, though be mindful that they won’t go quite as crisp. Whichever way you choose to cook them, they will be absolutely delicious!
Gluten-free Jalapeño Poppers
Ingredients:
- 170g cream cheese
- 85g grated Cheddar cheese
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 8-10 jalapeño peppers, halved and de-seeded
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup gluten-free plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 litre vegetable or sunflower oil, for frying
Method:
- In a bowl, mix the cheeses, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, lemon juice, salt and pepper together.
- Next, cut your jalapeño peppers in half and scrape out and dispose of the seeds.
- Spoon the cheese mixture evenly between the pepper halves until it’s all used up. Depending on the size of the jalapeño peppers, you will get up to 20 stuffed halves.
- Fill three separate dishes with milk, gluten-free breadcrumbs and flour. Add the dried parsley to the breadcrumbs and mix.
- One at a time, take each stuffed jalapeño pepper and dip it into the milk, then the flour, back into the milk then roll in the breadcrumb mix until thoroughly coated.
- Once all the jalapeños are coated, set aside while you heat the vegetable oil. You want the oil to reach 180°C before frying your poppers. If you don’t have a thermometer, try dropping a piece of bread into the hot oil. If it sizzles and floats, your oil is ready to use.
- Carefully lower your jalapeño poppers into the oil one at a time and cook for 2-3 minutes until crisp and a deep golden colour.
- Drain the poppers on some kitchen towel for a couple of minutes then serve. These are best eaten hot, though be careful; they’ll be molten inside when they first come out of the oil, so wait at least 5 minutes before digging in.