Hot, Hot, Hot Banana Peppers!

Chorizo Style Stuffed Banana Peppers

Warning! Warning! This recipe is HOT!  Banana Peppers can really vary in intensity and it turned out that mine put out a lot of heat.  Add to that the the mexican chipolte vegan sausage in the stuffing and you've got your self a recipe for a fire breather!  If you like spicy hot food, read on! 

On the plus side, this recipe is actually really simple to make.   It's just a crumble of Field Roast Mexican Chipolte Sausage, sautéed with onion, spices and scrambled tofu, placed atop banana pepper halves and topped with Daiya cheese. 

The ingredients you will need.

The Field Roast brand vegan sausages are excellent (and this from my very discerning, sausage-loving husband!) and the Daiya cheese is the closest thing to real cheese that I have yet found.  It contains no casein as some vegetarian "cheeses" do.  It melts and stretches and lends a creamy richness to veg dishes.   I am partial to the Daiya "pepperjack style shreds" as I think they have the most flavor.  Unfortunately, the Field Roast (as far as I know) is only available at Whole Foods and Daiya can be found at Whole Foods and a few other specialty stores around Pittsburgh that cater to alternative diets.  Eden Market in Mt. Lebanon, where I pick up my CRO bag, carries it.  You can of course substitute meat sausage and cheese for the vegan versions here.

Have lots of water ready!

Chorizo-style Stuffed Banana Peppers


4-6 Clarion River Organics Banana Peppers
2 links Field Roast Mexican Chipolte Sausage, crumbled or chopped
1 14 oz. pkg firm tofu, crumbled
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 package Daiya Pepperjack style shreds (or other vegan cheese)
sprig of fresh cilantro for garnish, optional

The prepped ingredients.

Preheat oven to 400.

Slice the top off of each banana pepper, cut in half and scrape out the seeds.  Arrange halves on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.  Set aside while preparing the stuffing.

Saute onion in oil 5 minutes, add spices and garlic and cook 2 more minutes.  Add sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add crumbled tofu and continue to cook 5 more minutes.  Spoon the stuffing onto each banana pepper half.  Don't worry about the messiness of this, it won't sit on top of each half perfectly but that's okay.  Just let it spill over and you can scrap off the filling onto the plates when serving.  Bake 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and top each with Daiya shreds and return to the oven to melt the Daiya 5-8 more minutes.  Serve at once garnished with cilantro sprigs if desired.  Serves 4.