Something red and spicy for Valentine’s Day – Chili Sauce! I love chili in all its forms so it is fitting that this is my first recipe post.
I am on a bit of a tear trying to find ways to replace things we eat [or used to eat] with alternatives that taste great and are a bit healthier [no preservatives/chemicals etc]. This one was hugely successful.
The traditional stuff is fabulous…on raw oysters, grilled chicken, Asian greens, eggs, whatever….love it. But it is a full of a bit of crap and chemicals.
So….a few roasted peppers, a bit of garlic, some vinegar and a touch of salt later…
voila…
Here’s how to make it…
Chilli Sauce:
Makes about ¼ – ½ cup of sauce, which will last for quite a long time!
Ingredients:
1 large red capsicum [aka red bell pepper]
1 red ball chilli
2 jalapeños
2 cloves garlic
good pinch sea salt
1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Method:
On a foil lined pan, roast the peppers whole under the grill [broiler], turning every few minutes until the skin is evenly charred. If the red cap is too big around and gets too close to the heat, cut it in half though the stem and place cut side down on the pan.
When the skins of the peppers are all charred [but not completely disintegrated], just fold the foil over and crimp the edges so the skin steams off – no need for a paper bag or another bowl. After a few minutes, remove the charred skin and scrape out the seeds – don’t wash the peppers or you will loose all that lovely flavour.
Place in a bowl with the garlic and salt, puree until smooth. Add the vinegar to taste. I use a stick-blender for this but you can use a regular blender or a food processor.
Use sparingly on anything that you can imagine.
Notes:
- This would hypothetically store for a while in the fridge but since I only ever need a little bit at a time, I put it into the freezer and just scrape some off with a knife – just don’t get it confused with granita….[how can cold be so hot?!]
- I used a really large red cap for this but you could just use 2 medium ones instead. A red ball chilli was what the shop had, but any red or orange or yellow hot pepper, or another jalapeno would work just as well instead.
- I started with 1 Tbsp of the vinegar and ended up adding another full one [2 total] for a bit more tang. If there is no apple cider vinegar on hand, white vin or maybe even rice wine vin would be just fine.
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