JALAPEÑO POPPERS

What makes them so good?

This recipe is by a certified chilli lover so these are for spice fiends only! Blanching the chilli first softens it as it doesn’t take long once the jalapeño popper gets fried. The panko breadcrumbs create a crispy cocoon during the frying process - which makes it important to let them cool for a few minutes. Or else, the piping hot cream cheese and chilli seed filling could burst out as you crunch into the popper. Your tastebuds and not your facial beauty are meant to be the only casualties of this recipe, so take caution! Once they’ve cooled slightly, you’re good to crunch in while they’re still warm.

What makes these ones vegan?

Panko breadcrumbs are generally vegan with big chunky pieces of crumb that create a good ol’ cronch. The issue with standard breadcrumbs is surprisingly they’re often not vegan! Check the cheap ones at your local supermarket, you might be surprised to see they contain milk, egg, fish, the factory floor sweepings and what seems to be DNA matches for the last 100 missing persons cases in your local area. So always check, or default to panko.

Store bought cream cheese is often very thick, which is actually great here as deep frying oil temperatures turn them to delicious goo anyway. It’s mixed with garlic and shredded vegan cheese, which is the only vegan specific ingredient you truly need to track down for this, because..

What if I can’t find store bought vegan cream cheese?

I’ve got you! This is the vegan cream cheese recipe from Vegan Junk Food:

Makes 600 g (1 lb 5 oz/21⁄2 cups)

400 g (14 oz) raw cashews

150 g (51/2 oz) dairy-free yoghurt
2 teaspoons lactic acid (or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid)
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra if needed 2 teaspoons white vinegar, plus extra if needed
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, plus extra if needed

Soak the cashews in plenty of cold water for at least 8 hours, or boil for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside to cool.

Place the cashews in a food processor and process for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Add the yoghurt and continue to process until the mixture becomes smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients, then taste and adjust the flavour if necessary, adding more salt, vinegar or nutritional yeast. Process for a few more seconds – you’ll know it’s ready when the cheese is creamy without any graininess from the nuts.

Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Catch my episode with Bare Cravings where Haans Siver and I show you all the steps to make these vegan jalapeño pepper poppers…

or, tune into the replay of Sara Kidd’s and my live where I taught her how to pull off this very recipe!