Vegan Party Jalapeño Poppers
Jalapenos are the most popular chile peppers in the US. This is probably due to the availability and versatility of the chile. Jalapenos have a balanced combination of flavor and heat. The demand for these have caused breeders to develop a broad range of varieties.
Ingredients:
5 large jalapeno peppers, deseeded and halved
Cheese mixture:
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup vegan cheddar cheese shreds
Flour mixture:
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
Dash of chipotle powder
Pinch of salt and pepper
Panko bread crumbs
Small flat bowl of soy milk (about 1/4 cup)
1+ cups grapeseed oil (or canola or olive)
Instructions:
Prep your jalapenos by halving them and carefully removing the seeds. Set aside.
Get your “breading” station set up. You will have a bowl for each of these: cheese mixture (fold the shreds into the cream cheese), flour mixture, panko crumbs, soy milk.
Start prepping your jalapenos. Here is the method: stuff with cheese, roll in milk, roll in flour, back in milk, roll in panko crumbs, set aside. Pressing the panko crumbs into the wet cheese layer really helps. Continue this process until all the jalapenos are stuffed and breaded.
Pour your oil into a large pot over med-high heat. Test the oil for heat-readiness by dropping one panko crumb into the oil – if it sizzles, the oil is hot enough. If you can get by with cooking all your poppers with 1 cup of oil, great. But if you want a more saturated “fry” you may need to add more.
Pan-fry eat jalapeno popper for about 90 seconds on each side. Flip with care.
Transfer poppers to a paper towels to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Makes 10 popppers.