Green Cuisine: Celebrate St Pat's with Roasted Jalepeño Poppers Appetizer Recipe

I know, they're not exactly traditional Irish food, but - Hey! - jalepeños are green, right? So, why not make some for your St Patrick's Celebration?

Roasting instead of breading and deep frying saves tons of work, and mess, and calories. I like this approach to homemade jalepeño poppers because the flavors are still intense and spicy.  All the flavor without all the fuss!

I wanted a crunchy topping, even though these are roasted and not deep fried, so instead of bread crumbs I used ground pecans, a traditional Southwest nut. This turned out to be THE thing that put this recipe over the top: roasted pecan crunchiness! Woo Hoo!

ROASTED JALEPEÑO POPPERS

6 jalapeño peppers
1 ounce cheddar cheese, grated (about ½ cup)
4 tablespoons light cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ cup ground (or finely minced) pecans

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice jalapeños in half lengthwise with a large sturdy kitchen knife, making sure to cut the stem in half so that each jalapeño half has a stem sticking out of top. With a spoon, scoop out seeds and pulp, leaving stem in tact. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Place cut jalapeños in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and let cool. Place cut side up on a baking sheet.

Mix together the cheddar, cream cheese and bacon bits, then fill each jalapeño half with this mixture. Sprinkle each jalapeño half with pecans.

Bake in center of oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Serve warm. Makes 12 appetizers.

Check out this post on Chowhound featuring 11 different ways to make jalapeno poppers (all roasted BTW)!

Other intriguing poppers recipes:
Emeril's Baked Jalapeno Poppers, Yasmeen Health Nut
Baked Jalapeno Poppers, Slash Food
Jalapeno Poppers, Chili Cheese Fries
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers, Fearless Kitchen

-- posted by Donna