Red Pepper Poppers
Recently, I hosted a raw food pot luck at my home. Talking to everyone, at all levels of involvement with raw food was interesting and enlightening. It is always fun to see what raw food dishes people show up with. One couple brought some jalapeno poppers, made the raw food way. They were very good. I was inspired to take a shot at it and see what I could come up with.
Instead of using green jalapeno’s, I opted for small red cayenne peppers, for the color and the ripeness. The heat is about the same. The filling is made from pine nuts, cashews and a few other ingredients. Eggplant “bacon” tops completes the bite size morsels. There are quite a few recipes out there for eggplant “bacon”. This one was inspired by a trip to the spice shop and a desire to make it quick and easy. It turned out great. I had to fight my daughter to keep enough for the photos!
Pepper Poppers with Pine Nut Filling and "Bacon"
The day before, make the bacon.
Eggplant Bacon
- 1 eggplant
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle peppers (I get them pre-ground)
- 2 tablespoons agave (or liquid sweetener of your choice)
- Using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, slice the eggplant into strips about 1/8″ thick. Set aside.
- Mix together marinade ingredients.
- Place eggplant in marinade, making sure all is covered. Cover and let soak for 2-3 hours.
- Dehydrate at 116 for at least 12 hours, or until crisp.
The day of:
Pine Nut Filling
- 1 1/2 cups pine nuts (presoak for 4-5 hours.)
- 1/2 cup cashews (pre-soak for 4-5 hours)
- 1 1/2 lemons (juice from)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (not considered raw, but used frequently in raw food recipes)
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- pinch salt
- 1/2 red pepper
- Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.
Assembly
- 10 cayenne peppers
- pine nut filling
- eggplant bacon
- Cut peppers in half and remove seeds. I use plastic gloves when doing this. Be careful to not touch your face while doing this. The heat is in the seeds.
- Fill pepper halves with pine nut “cheese” and top with eggplant bacon. Enjoy!!
Helene wrote on April 13, 2010
Yes Edna–that was quite rude–and I am sure you knew that!~ Most people love this site–so I am in agreement that if you are going to say something negative and I am SURE you know before you that do: Please dont
Shakira wrote on April 8, 2010
That looks yummy…the cayenne peppers that we have in Jamaica are really tiny though, they’re called “bird peppers”, i suspect I would have to use jalapenos for this…for us, those are fairly mild, we’re used to habaneros on a regular basis 🙂
Goody wrote on March 13, 2010
lol..you are right Susan I guess edna wont be eating it.
I am always amazed at people and the fact that they feel a need to leave their “baggage” in other peoples “homes”.
if you don’t care for something why is it even necessary to comment? just keep it moving..
anyyyyywayyyyy…
Susan you have opened up my raw mind in so many ways that I would have never thought possible..
while winter has found me almost 80% non raw instead of my preferred 80% raw, just coming to your blog inspires and motivates me..
please keep servin’ it
edna wrote on March 12, 2010
Do people really eat that stuff? Sounds and looks awful.
Susan wrote on March 12, 2010
Lol…I guess you won’t be eating it.
Amber Rose wrote on March 11, 2010
i made the bacon out of this because it sounded so good. and i use to like bacon when i ate meat, whew, gosh its been almost 5 years, anyways i did not have chipotle peppers so i used spicy red, still very lovely! yummy!
Jo Anna wrote on March 8, 2010
The bacon looks incredible. Super excited try this on an AELT!
Kimey wrote on January 16, 2010
I can’t believe that is n ot real BACON!!! What a great job you did!!!
scooter wrote on November 20, 2009
This looks great, but just a few things. One, chipotle peppers are not raw, soooo the “bacon” is not raw so be careful who you serve these too, a 100% raw person might be pretty upset. Two, a cayenne pepper is a little misrepresented, as it usually is a pretty hot, maybe a sweet pepper would have been a better way to say it. I’m totally ready to try this though.
Susan wrote on November 20, 2009
You are right. Chipotle peppers are smoked. The bacon calls for 1/4 teaspoon of the powdered form in the marinade. It is for flavor, not nutrition. By the time you eat the bacon, you are probably getting a couple of grains of it. But yes, if someone is 100% raw you might want to inform them. Also, the peppers are called cayenne peppers in the store that I bought them. They are hot. Not eye watering hot, but they are spicy.
Caleb wrote on November 10, 2009
Whoa, these look amazing. Will definitely have to try these for a party in the future.