Jalapeño Poppers are great, but deep fried cheesy ones can be too oily, rich, and cloying; in other words, really bad for you. I want mine to taste heavenly and help balance blood sugar and lower cholesterol. This recipe does just that, although it does not have the crunch of a battered pepper. The grilling of the peppers gives it that sweetness and smoky char flavor that deep frying doesn’t do. If you like spicy food and the taste of grilled peppers, you’re going to love this finger food!
PREP TIME: 30 mins (20 for cutting the peppers, 10 for stuffing them)
COOKING TIME: 15 mins
Ingredients
- 18-20 Jalapeno Peppers
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil (for grilling)
Hummus*
- 1 can of organic Garbanzo beans or Chickpeas
- 3 tbsp Tahini Sauce (from Trader Joe’s) OR Tahini + lemon juice
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- A pinch of cumin (optional)
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
Preparation
Instructions
- Do a T-slit on your peppers, and remove the seeds with a small teaspoon. (Tip: Wear gloves)
- Drain the water from the Garbanzo beans, and rinse it under cold water through a sieve until you don’t see any froth anymore.
- Add the garbanzo beans, tahini sauce, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Close the lid and blend on low. Add a steady stream of olive oil while the blender is running. About 10-15 seconds.
- Increase the speed to high for another 30 secs, or until your hummus looks emulsified, but not too silky. You want it to look slightly granular like wet sand. Set aside.
- Stuff your Jalapeño peppers with the hummus.
- Heat a cast iron grill pan on a stove on medium heat.
- When the skillet is hot, place your peppers, hummus face up. After 3 mins, turn the pepper to the side and grill for another 3 mins. Finally, turn it to the other side and grill for another 3 mins. (Don’t grill the hummus side).
Once your peppers look like they have blistered grill marks, and the cooking looks even all around, they are ready to eat. Rest for 5 minutes before eating. ENJOY!!!
* There are several ways you can do the hummus. The hummus from scratch (1.5 days), the quick hack (5 mins), or the store-bought ready-to-eat version. The quick hack version seems to be the easiest thing to do without sacrificing time, control and flavor. Store-bought hummus quality may vary, so make sure you use a good brand if you want to use ready-to-eat hummus. I’d reprocess the hummus with a clove or two of raw garlic to give it that garlicky flavor.