Can You Handle the Heat of Chili Peppers?
Learn how to stuff a jalapeno pepper and to give your brownies a spicy kick with two recipes involving chili peppers
- By Sarah Zielinski
- Smithsonian.com, March 19, 2009, Subscribe
Chili peppers are more than just the heat in salsa. Chile Pepper Institute director Paul Bosland had so many chili pepper recipes on hand that when asked for his favorite, he sent two. The first uses a “grande” pod, the NuMex Jalmundo, which is a type of jalapeño. “If hotter stuffed jalapeños are desired, a few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce/Tabasco in the cheese mixture can push the heat level up,” Bosland says.
The second recipe uses the world’s hottest chili pepper, the Naga (or Bhut) Jolokia. In brownies. Bosland says he makes these brownies every year for his department’s Christmas party where they are a big hit, but he warns that even “one tablespoon [of the chili powder] can be too much for some.”
NuMex Jalmundo Western-styled Stuffed Jalapeño
Ingredients:
12 NuMex Jalmundo jalapeños (jumbo size), halved and deseeded
1 (8 ounce) package smooth cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) package shredded jalapeno flavored cheddar cheese
6 bacon strips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Split one side of the jalapeño lengthwise and remove seeds.
3. In a bowl, mix together cream cheese and cheddar cheese.
4. Stuff jalapeño halves with the cheese mixture.
5. Wrap each stuffed pod tightly with a half strip of bacon. Use a toothpick to hold bacon in place.
6. Arrange in a single layer on a lightly greased medium baking sheet.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.
Cooking time can vary. When the bacon is cooked, the jalapeños are done.
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Comments (2)
Great recipe, thank you!
ThePepperSeed.com
Posted by Peppers1 on January 18,2011 | 03:01 PM
Tablespoon, eh? Those brownies will burn multiple times. Burn the mouth, warm the stomach and burn again as they make their exit in a grande finale. Kind of like swalloing the red hot iron ball in Buddhist hell.
Posted by Michael Ponzani on December 1,2010 | 06:52 PM