FLOWER POT KITCHEN: GLUTEN FREE CHILLI CHEESE CORN BREAD CRISPY JALAPEÑO POPPERS

5 May 2023

GLUTEN FREE CHILLI CHEESE CORN BREAD CRISPY JALAPEÑO POPPERS

These gluten free jalapeño poppers are a game changer for someone like me who is allergic to storage mites which can live in stored flours and grains. For years I have missed these gorgeous power punch of fresh crispy jalapeño and hot creamy cheese and crispy panko fried crust, not anymore! Who knew taking a homemade cornbread, blitzing into breadcrumbs could result in a gluten free crispy glorious jalapeño popper!

Prep time 30 minutes / Optional 30 minutes chill time / Cooking time 5 mins in batches (4)

(makes 20)

For the cornbread breadcrumbs I make my own but store brought will work the same.

Cornbread Recipe for Cornbread Crumbs

150g butter

1 glug olive oil

2 onions finely sliced

1 tsp sugar

4 cooked corn on the cob

4 large eggs

350g polenta

500ml top gold milk

200g grated cheddar

200g grated Parmesan cheese

5 red chillies de-seeded and finely sliced

1 tbsp sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp baking powder

Cornbread Method

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. In a frying pan melt the butter and a dash of ooil, add the onions, garlic and gently fry for approx. 20-30minutes, after 20mins add the sugar and cook on until they are wonderfully caramelised, golden brown and sticky, leave to one side to cool slightly.

I love to take my corn off the cob, it really does make a huge difference to the flavour, so holding the cob upright on the board I run my knife from top to bottom cutting off all the kernels. Add these to your onions and cook for a further 5 or so minutes.

In a large bowl place your eggs, milk, baking powder, flour and polenta, season with salt and pepper, add most of the grated cheese reserving 50g for topping the muffins later and the same with the chillies reserve a little for topping later, mix gently but well then add the slightly cooled onion mix.

I either like to use a 8” cake tin or my son’s favourite Pioneer Woman’s flower muffin tin, grease well. Fill your mixture into the tin and bake for approx 30 - 35 minutes in your oven, 15 minutes before their ready sprinkle the left over cheese and chillies and return to the oven. Take out the oven and leave to cool for five minutes before removing from the tin.

Jalapeño Poppers

(makes 20)

Ingredients

10 green or red whole fresh jalapeños

2 tubs Philadelphia cream cheese

3 eggs beaten

300g gluten free plain flour

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 ltr vegetable oil for frying

Halve the jalapenos, scoop out the seeds and place in a large bowl, add the cream cheese to the seeds and mix well. Using a teaspoon generously fill each half jalapeño with the cream cheese mix.

Set up your dredging station, 3 bowls one with beaten eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, one with gluten free flour seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper and the final bowl with your blitzed cornbread crumbs.

Blitz the cornbread into crumbs

Coat the jalapeño poppers in the beaten egg.

Next coat the popper in the seasoned gluten free flour.

Next dip the popper back in the egg.

Finally coat the popper in the cornbread crumbs, place on a plate and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Chill for 30 minutes (optional).

Heat your vegetable oil to 180 C / 356 F. Place in some of the poppers to fry, don’t over crowd the pan as this will lower the oil temperature which will leave you with soggy oil soaked poppers. Fry for 3-5 minutes until crispy golden brown, remove and drain on a paper towel, best eaten straight away, whom I kidding as if I would ever have the patience to wait!

Serve immediately as best eaten hot.

Enjoy.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.