Jalapeno poppers

Ingredients

• 12 jalapeño chillies
• 125 g (4½ oz) Ritz crackers
• 250 g (9 oz/1 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 150 g (5½ oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) vegetable oil, for frying
• lime wedges, to serve

Instructions

Cut the chillies down the middle, without removing or cutting the stem. Use a small spoon to scrape out and discard the seeds. Put the crackers in a food processor and blitz until coarsely crumbed. Tip the crumbs onto a plate.

Mix together the cream cheese, coriander and salt, then stuff into the chillies. Press the cut edges of the chillies together to enclose the filling.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and put the flour in another bowl. Measure 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) water into a third bowl.

Dip the chillies in the water, then quickly roll in the flour to coat. Dip in the egg, then roll in the crumbs to coat. You can refrigerate these for up to a day before cooking.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add some of the cracker crumbs to the oil. If they sizzle on contact, the oil is ready to cook in. Fry the chillies in batches for 2-3 minutes, turning them over in the oil so they are golden all over. Serve with lime wedges. 

Recipe and image from Food + Beer by Ross Dobson (Murdoch Books, $45, hbk).

View our Readable feasts review and more recipes from the book here.