Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Jalapeño Poppers

I once worked with an ex-military South-African man named Phillip on an organic farm in Greece. He had his own sort of wisdom. He never killed mosquitos, for example, because he couldn't make one out of sea water and air and therefore did not feel it was his right to do so.

I became quite sick over there. It was at a time when I couldn't choose what I ate, and had a disastrous immune system. Phillip took to calling me Sinusitis. He told me for a remedy, I had to peel an entire onion and eat a handful of chillies from this plant outside:

And did I? Of course not. But he checked in the next day. 

Was I feeling better? No. Did I do what he told me to? No. To my dismay, he went outside and to get the chillies. He came back in and took out an onion. He was going to do it with me- for moral support and the sake of camaraderie. We peeled the onion. We crushed the chillies. Before I could really grasp what was happening, he was holding my head down into a handful of peelings, passionately instructing me to take long deep breaths. When I couldn't take it anymore and came up for air, he threw the crushed chillies into my mouth. It was one of the most uncomfortable combination of sensations ever to have reached my nose, throat, eyes and mouth. When I finally managed to stop coughing and ask how he came to know this method of healing, he confessed that he didn't: he had thought about it once in a kitchen and wanted to see if it would work. He left me then, to go, scare the stray cats out of begging for food and turn them back into being, "the ultimate predators that they are." I realized he was drunk. And I was still sick. 

I used to think chillies were too overpowering. That day in Greece was the first and last time I've ever bit into a raw one. Despite my aggressive introduction, I've since appreciated their presence in culinary arts. This next recipe is the first time I've used them whole, and although it widened the void in my heart where delicious things like real cheese and real sour cream used to be, I'll definitely be making them again.

Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Jalapeño Poppers   

Ingredients:   

8 whole jalapeño peppers

1/2 cup cooked sweet potato, skin removed

1 shallot, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp chili powder 

1/2 -1 cup coconut milk, or other vegan milk 

1/4 cup GF bread crumbs

1/4 cup oat flour, or other GF flour 

Lime wedges 

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Mash together the sweet potato, shallot, garlic, nutritional yeast, lime juice and 1 tsp of chilli powder. Set aside. 

A lot of people recommend using gloves here - I never do and will always end up with some part of my eye or nose suffering as a consequence. Just be careful and remember your fingers are poisonous throughout this process. Slice the jalapeños length-wise, either all the way through or just to the stem. Remove the innards and seeds. Fill them with the sweet potato mixture. 

Mix the bread crumbs with the other tsp of chilli powder and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour the flour onto a plate, and the bread crumb mixture onto another. 

Dip each one in milk, and roll them gently in the flour. Let them dry for a minute, then dip them again and roll them gently in the breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven on a lightly oiled pan or parchment paper for 30 - 40 minutes, until soft. 

I mixed it up, but this recipe makes 8-16 poppers, depending on how you end up slicing them. Serve with lime wedges and a neutralizing dip, like a sour-cream equivalent, and pair it with cold beer or cider.