Homemade Chilli Poppers!

Eat With Dip...

I've been meaning to try making these for ages after eating an amazing jalapeno alternative in a popular Mexican restaurant a few months back. I did start out wanting to try them with jalapenos but had to settle with green chillies instead as I couldn't find fresh whole jalapenos. To be honest, I think there was only a slight difference in the flavour so you could just use either- don't forget to accompany it with a yummy dip! Note: You'll have to forgive the mess in these pictures- Chilli Poppers are not the neatest things to make! 

• Medium green chillies
• Soft cheese
• Breadcrumbs (I used panko breadcrumbs but you can use anything)
• 1 Egg- beaten
• Plain flour
• Vegetable oil & Kitchen paper

• Slice the chillies lengthwise and thoroughly de-seed them. Do this with care- I used my thumb and paid for it for the rest of the evening!
• Scoop the soft cheese into the chillies and place the two halves back together.
• Pour a small amount of vegetable oil into a heavy bottomed sauce pan, you'll need to have just enough to coat the entire bottom of the pan. Start to heat the oil slowly.
• While the oil is being heated, have three bowls out ready with the breadcrumbs, egg and flour. Dip the chillies in the flour first, then place in the egg mixture and then roll them in the breadcrumbs.
• Once the oil is hot enough, carefully add in the chillies. (The oil should bubble when they are added).
• Keep a careful eye on the chillies while they are cooking, they should cook on one side for around 3-4 minutes, then turn them on the other side for another 4 minutes. The chillies should come out golden brown.
• Place the cooked chillies on kitchen paper to avoid them being too greasy. Serve with chilli jam or another dip of your choice!

This is something I would definitely class as 'messy Saturday night' food as it requires a fair amount of washing up afterwards, but it's definitely worth it if you fancy some spicy junk food without paying a fortune for it. It's definitely something I would whip out for when I've got a group of people around on a saturday night!