I often grill a pepper or two to have with dinner. Another variation is a twist on the frozen pepper poppers. I make these from fresh ingredients straight from the garden and I don’t have to deal with breading or deep frying.
I start with peppers like Hungarian Wax or similar types. These are not very hot and can use a bit of extra kick. Split them lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and membranes. If the peppers are curled, cut them to they will lay flat with the inside upwards. Lightly coat the outside of the peppers with olive oil.
The stuffing starts with plain cream cheese. Figure about a teaspoon to tablespoon per pepper half depending on the size of the peppers to be stuffed. Chop a bit of onion and garlic for flavor. Add some chopped Jalapeño or other hot pepper for extra kick. Chop all the ingredients finely and mix well into the cream cheese.
I don’t have specific quantities for the ingredients. Start with a little extra cream cheese and start adding the ingredients. Sample a bit of the cream cheese mixture until it has the right amount of kick for you.
Stuff the cream cheese mixture into the pepper shells. Don’t put too much or it may bubble over the edges and make a mess of your grill. Sprinkle some fresh chives on top. Place them on the grill. They will be done when the bottom of the peppers start showing some brown grill marks and the cheese melts. Remove and cool. Be careful, the cheese will be very hot!
These are so good it is a shame to only have them during the summer. When I have extra peppers, I slice them lengthwise and remove the seeds. Next I put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once they freeze I double bag them and return to the freezer. Then when I want to make some I pull out a few peppers and place them in the oven skin side up. This helps dry out the moisture and cook the pepper.
While this is going on, make the cheese stuffing. Since I don't have fresh hot peppers I use pickled jalapenos. Once the peppers just start to show some browning, remove them. They will be hot, so you might want to let them cool for a minute or two. Add the cheese mixture and return to the oven, this time cheese side up until ready. They are not quite as good as fresh on the grill, but they still taste great!
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