We have found that, as a general rule, Germans are not huge fans of the spicy stuff.  German extra hot salsa is what we in the States would call mild. At our favorite Mexican take away, Condesa, which recently closed {sob}, they always asked what level of spicy sauce we want: 1 {German spicy, no not spicy at all}, 2 {American spicy}, 3 {Mexican spicy}, or a 4 which had the chilies spilling out the top of the bottle {I’m going to go ahead and assume that was English spicy}. That is why I laughed out loud at the shop the other day when I saw some habaneros. It took me a year and a half to find a jalapeño in this city, but they have habaneros, something that even I am not going to touch. Go figure.

Anyway.

I’ve been craving jalapeño poppers ever since we got back from our trip to the States last summer. There is just something about a crispy, spicy pepper filled with cheese that does me in. But, as previously stated, I couldn’t find a jalapeño in this whole city. I checked farmer’s markets, the special grocery stores that are in basements of department stores, and lots of Bio {organic} grocery stores other than my local. Nothing. Until last week, that is. I walk in the store and there, looking me square in the face is a huge basket of lovely, green jalapeños. And I only got a few dirty looks from other shoppers as I shoved handfuls of peppers into my shopping bag.

Naturally, the first thing I did when I got home was to whip up some jalapeño poppers.  Just a warning, these are not for the faint of heart. They are incredibly flavorful, but also really spicy. I’d say they’re a Mexican spicy on the Condesa scale. Unless of course, you miss a few seeds. Then it’s definitely a 4.

Baked Jalapeño Poppers

{inspired by In Fine Balance}

The Stuffing 
1/3 cup cream cheese
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

The Breading 
whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano

The Wichtige Sachen
6 jalapeños
1 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven on high broil. {Grill for all y’all Kiwis.}

Slice your jalapeños down the middle. Remove the seeds and membranes, but leave the stem. It’s a great handle! As always when dealing with spicy peppers, be sure not to touch your eyes, nose, mouth, face, etc. until you’ve washed your hands really well. It makes for an unpleasant experience.

In a bowl, combine your cream cheese with all of the spices and mix well. Spoon a dollop into each pepper. Using the back of the spoon make sure the whole pepper is full of cheese.

On a small plate, mix the breading ingredients. Press each pepper, cheese side down, into the breading and then place on a grill rack. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the tops of the peppers and pop them in the oven towards the top.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the breading has browned a bit and it’s appropriately crispy.

Serve with some salsa and sour cream. Lots of sour cream.

Dig in! I may or may not have eaten an entire batch for lunch yesterday. True story.