There’s a slow burn that comes from a cooked jalapeño. When you bite into a baked or fried whole pepper, there’s a mild sweetness of the roasted flesh. Then bitterness hits from the skin and membrane as you chew. And finally, there’s the heat. That’s what you wait for. It’s what you’re a little scared of before you take the first bite, because every pepper is different and you’re not sure if in ten seconds you’ll still be able to breathe. Life and peppers have taught you be cautious.
Well, some of us. Others, like myself, occasionally and irrationally dive right in, taking what we get. We maybe have some rice or a margarita on the side in case things get unbearable — the rice for muting chili peppers, the margarita for muting life.
These stuffed jalapeños are unique. First, they’re not fried. And second, they’re vegan. The creamy avocado is a little sweet and a lot cooling on the tongue and it keep the stuffed peppers them plenty rich, despite the lack of fry oil, so you’re not getting off easy by swapping out the cheese. But why would you want to get off easy when the filling is this silky?
Third, there’s kale in there. Just try it. Then serve the extra stuffing on the side as a dip — it’s becomes guacamole if you add a little diced tomato and cilantro. See point one about the cooling nature of avocado. Besides, have you ever had a serving of vegetables with your stuffed jalapeños? No, I didn’t think so. The kale works with the pepper’s slight bitterness and adds more texture, so you’re forced to chew and you don’t inhale too may peppers before the heat catches up to you…
…because you have to wait for it. It’ll come.
Vegan Avocado-Stuffed and Roasted Jalapeño Peppers with Guacamole
1 head kale, leaves removed from branches
3 shallots, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 container white or cremini mushrooms, diced (about 4 cups chopped mushrooms)
2 avocados
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lime juice
20 jalapeño peppers
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the kale leaves and blanch for 2 minutes, stirring gently until leaves are bright green. Drain and submerge leaves in ice water (I usually cheat and just drain them and run them under very cold tape water until they’re cool). Roughly dice the kale leaves. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and then add the minced shallots. Cook 5 minutes or until softened. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 8 minutes more. Meanwhile, core the avocados and mash with a fork in a large bowl. Stir in the lime juice.
Add the kale to the mushrooms and cook 3 minutes more. Then add the contents of the skillet to the bowl of avocado.
Core the jalapeños by slicing off the top and then slicing down into each pepper. Get out as many of the seeds and as much of the white membrane as possible (unless you like heat more than flavour). Stuff with the avocado filling, reserving what’s leftover for a dip. Place the jalapeños in a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 375˚F and bake for 30 minutes, until peppers start to wrinkle. Add the diced tomato and cilantro to the leftover stuffing and serve as a dip. Adjust lime and salt to taste.
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