Pretty much everything you see came from our garden or the field

This is why I grow food

This meal was inspired by the popper thread on the chillisgalore forums ( @chilliesgalore.co.uk : popper thread ). I'd like to thank Davetaylor for posting it :D

I've had to wait ages to try this recipe since I first saw it on the chillisgalore forums, and I mean ages! As with all good meals it started with a compromise, the problem was that I didn't have any chillis that were big enough to stuff so I had to use a pepper instead and add chilli to the stuffing. Other than that I pretty much followed the original recipe.

Ingredients

The Chicken Poppers

The chicken poppers ready for the oven

• Chicken ... obviously
• Bacon
• Ham
• BBQ Sauce
• Soft cheese ... we used philly
• Strong cheese ... we used mature cheddar
• Black peppercorns .. crushed
• Basil ( purple )
• Garlic ( Thermidore )
• Onion leaves ( Paris Silverskin ) ... I had loads left after pickling the bulbs ;)
• Coriander ( Leisure )
• Sweet Pepper ( N.Napia ) ... you'd normally use chilli here
• Chilli ( Pretty in Purple ) ... these are a smidge to small to stuff ;)

The rest

The finished poppers, damn they tasted good ... even the string tasted good :roll:

• Cabbage ( Greyhound )
• Broccoli ( Quick heading callabrese )
• Onion leaves ( Paris Silverskin ) .... told you we had loads left .... we're thinking of freezing them :p
• Garlic ( Thermidore )
• Broad Beans ( Aquadulce )
• Sugar snaps ( cunningly named Sugar Snaps )
• Courgette ( Verde di Milano )
• I forgot to use the tomato, so technically it's not an ingredient :P

Lets make poppers

That was one meal I really enjoyed :D

1. First of all we'll make the filling by chopping the ham, chillis, onion, garlic, basil and coriander up and then throwing it all into a bowl with the soft cheese and the peppercorns. Give it a good old stir until it's all mixed together.
2. The mixture should then be dolloped into chillies that have been cut in half lengthways and de-seeded but I didn't have any chillis big enough so I used sweet peppers instead. Pop a few thin slices of the strong cheese on top of the stuffed peppers and then wrap them in strips of chicken and then wrap the wrapped poppers in bacon as well ... smoked bacon worked for us
3. Finally, baste the whole lot with BBQ sauce and throw them onto a baking tray.
4. Turn the oven on and set it to gas mark 5 ... assuming you have gas, if not then there's always googy converter ... anyway, turn the oven on and then go grab a beer whilst you wait for it to pre-heat
5. Once the oven's hot enough slap the tray of poppers in and leave it there for about 20 minutes.
6. Whilst you're waiting chop up all the other ingredients to a size that suits you.
7. Once the 20 minutes are up whip the tray out of the oven ( and turn the oven off huh? ) and put it on one side for a few minutes to rest
8. In the meantime bang a wok on the cooker over a high heat and throw a generous dollop of olive oil in.
9. Once the oil's fairly hot, but not smoking, throw in the cabbage, broad beans, courgette, garlic and broccoli and stir them round in an energetic way.
10. Keep that up for a couple of minutes and then add the sugar snaps and onions and use another minutes worth of energy
11. Finally, throw the poppers on one side of a plate and the veg on the other side and drizzle the juice from the poppers over everything in sight
12. Eat

You can find a few more images in the gallery
¥