These spicy little nibbles are the sort of thing you find served all over the US while people are watching football.

I don’t watch football, ever. But I’d happily down a few of these fiery bites with a chilled IPA, served in a frosted glass.

The original recipe calls for pork sausage but I substituted spicy chicken sausage meat. Vegetarians could use sausage meat of the ‘V’ variety or leave it out entirely, adding more cheese.

Best of all they take no time to prepare and are done in 20-25 minutes. You can assemble them 24 hrs ahead – just cover with cling film and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake.

I like to serve these with a mild salsa because they have plenty of bite without adding more. If that’s still too much fire for you, serve them with a cooling ranch-style dressing.

Sausage & Cheese-Stuffed Jalapeños

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE-STUFFED JALAPENO PEPPERS

(Makes approx 40)

Ingredients:

1lb (450g) of sausage meat

8oz (225g) of cream cheese at room temp

4oz (113g) of finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

20 large firm jalapeño peppers, split lengthwise and seeds removed

To serve – mild salsa or ranch dressing

Action:

Preheat the oven to 425F (220C)

Arrange the pepper halves on a large baking sheet.

Cook the sausage meat in a heavy pan over a medium heat until it’s no longer pink. Set aside.

Combine the cheeses and add the sausage. Mix thoroughly and place a tablespoon of this mixture in each pepper half.

Bake for 18-25 minutes or until the topping is golden and bubbling.

Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.