Chilli poppers are American and were inspired by Mexican chile relleno which is made from roasted poblano peppers that are stuffed with a variety of things, coverd with the typical queso Oaxaca and often drenched in tomato sauce. They are usually made with Jalapeño peppers that have been hollowed out and stuffed with a mixture of cheese and spices or even deep fried battered minced beef. Classically the peppers are blanched, stuffed with cheddar or cream cheese and breaded to be deep fried. It’s a really great snack to have with drinks so do try it.

Ingredients

• 12 large jalapeño chillies
• 100 g mascarpone
• 100 g Danish feta cheese
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped red chillies (or use1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
• Cake flour
• Canola or Grape seed oil for frying
• Lime wedges for serving

Options

• Wrap a slice of pancetta around each popper and use a toothpick to fasten it before you dip it into the batter;
• Add 1 tablespoon left over broccoli (not the tough stems) and not the chopped chili to the cheese mixture for a really mild popper

Batter

• 200 g self raising flour
• 125 cornflour
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 190 ml ice water
• 5 ml sugar
• 5 ml salt
• 25 g finely grated grana (optional)

Method

• Roast chilies close to the element so that only the skins turn black; turn them from time to time so that they are black all around, remove and put into a ziploc or other thick plastic bag immediately – close so that it can sweat and set aside to cool.
• Remove the skins, wash your hands and make a thin cut down the length of the chili so that you can remove the seeds inside.
• Mix the mascarpone, feta, chilies (or cayenne pepper) with a little salt to taste and stuff the chilies neatly.
• Roll the stuffed chilies in the flour to dry them, shake off carefully to remove excess flour and set aside.
• Make the batter by whisking together all the ingredients at once, swiftly – if there are one or two lumps, don’t stress – it doesn’t matter.
• Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and then dip each popper into the batter, one by one and fry until golden.
• Remove with a slotted spoon, set aside on kitchen absorbent paper towels and serve with the wedges and a drink or two.