Turns out, it is jalapenos stuffed with a mix of cream cheese, tasty cheese, garlic and cumin. Minced meat is wrapped around the jalapenos. They are then baked and cut in half and the cheese mix is supposed to look a bit like an egg yolk. My efforts were not quite up to Homesick Texan, but a reasonable effort.
I also don't know anything about jalapenos. I didn't even know how hot they were. I hunted around Queen Vic market during lunchtime last week, but no jalapenos. I then checked out Prahran Market, which is really good for hard to find/get items. I eventually found my chillies at Damien Pike's stall (no. 116). Ironic really as I thought he was a mushroom specialist only. Evidently not. He also stocks chillies which I hadn't been aware of. There is even a 'chilli index' on one wall of his stall. Apparently jalapenos are 5 out of 10 in heat (according to his index). I figured that was do-able.
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| Jalapenos |
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| Halved jalapenos, they are then filled with the cream cheese and tasty cheese mix (forgot to photograph that part of the process!) |
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| Meat is rolled out into a circle, then jalapenos placed on top and wrapped |
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| If the meat around the jalapenos is not sealed completely, the cheese oozes out a bit, as illustrated above! |
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| In Homesick Texan's pics the mix of the cream cheese and tasty cheese looks like an egg yolk, mine not so obvious, oh well. |
The armadillo eggs can be served as an appetiser. I found the chilli quite hot, more like a 7 or 8 out of 10. If I was making this for a mixed crowd, I might try using capsicums (bell peppers). The jalapeno version was pretty good, but definitely had a kick. Well, that's another food first for me...I can tick jalapenos off the list.
These look so tasty. I can't think of a better way to use cheese, chillies and mince meat. I'm going to have a try this weekend. Thanks for the post, Deb.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds yum! Going onto my to-try list =)
ReplyDeleteHi Alley and Celeste, I will make them again, would use leaner sausages next time. They were pretty tasty, good for tapas-style snacks when visitors come over..
ReplyDeleteI actually found a Texan cookbook just recently. You have to come over and sample some of the spicy recipes. I doubt there's a non-meat recipe in the entire thing!
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