INGREDIENTS
12 jalapeño chillies
125 g (4½ oz) Ritz crackers
250 g (9 oz/1 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander (cilantro)
½ teaspoon 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
METHOD
1 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.
2 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.
3 Beat the eggs in a bowl and put the flour in another bowl. Measure250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) water into a third bowl.
4 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.
5 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.
6 Serve with lime wedges.
Recipes and Images from Food + Beer by Ross Dobson, published by Murdoch Books