Sweet Bell Pepper Poppers with Butter Chicken and Crushed Cannellini Rice

I mentioned on my Tame Dragon Chicken post that I love spicy food but my husband's a bit more adverse to it. Naturally, I love jalapeno poppers but my husband could live without them, although he has been known to eat the odd one or two. (He's more a fan of the ones you can get from UK Burger Kings--a lot milder and heavy on the cheese.)

The idea for these sweet bell pepper poppers came from my love for jalapeno poppers, but I wanted something that my husband would eat as well. Plus, while I was making the butter chicken also featured in this recipe, I noticed that one leftover bell pepper was on the last legs of its life and needed rescuing.

The coating I used for these comes from the technique I learned from Marcello Tully's Rice Krispies fish fingers recipe. The dipping sauce is simply ranch dressing from a bottle. As this was a last minute accompaniment, I hadn't anticipated making a dipping sauce for it, but I think the ranch works well. I'm telling you, just make these bell pepper poppers and you'll fall in love with them! They're slightly sweet with a satisfying crunch from the Rice Krispies treats and when dunked in the ranch, are simply irresistible. They'd be great as an appetizer or snack or even as a crispy component of a meal as I've done.

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 Ingredients:
For the sweet bell pepper poppers
1/3 cup Rice Krispies cereal
1 bell pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 egg
1 cup of plain flour
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Sunflower oil for frying
Ranch dressing for serving

For the butter chicken and crushed cannellini rice 
1 can (220g) cannellini beans in salted water
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
2 large chicken breasts
2 tbsp butter plus more for serving
3 cups water
salt and pepper

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All right, let's cook:
Heat an inch or two of oil in a saucepan or fryer.
Put the flour in a bowl and set aside.
Beat the egg in a separate bowl and set aside.
Put the Rice Krispies in a bowl and lightly crush. Add the sesame seeds and set aside.
Dredge each piece of bell pepper through the flour first, then the egg and then the cereal and seed mix. Set aside.
Once all the pieces of have been coated, fry about 90 seconds or until golden brown. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil off.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and when foaming add the chicken breast and cook through.
Prepare the rice by placing all of it and the water into a saucepan. Place over a high heat until boiling. Once boiling, reduce the heat and check for holes to appear on the surface of the rice. When the holes appear, add the cannellini beans, cover the rice and turn off the heat. Your rice will cook perfectly and will not stick to the pan.