Celebrate The Beauty of Peppers

And the 2016 Herb of the year is (drumroll) ... peppers! Really? Are peppers herbs? What is an herb? And why did peppers win the 2016 Herb of the Year.

Read more.........

http://www.pantagraph.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/allsup-celebrate-the-beauty-of-peppers/article_14bb22c1-1ef5-5742-83c1-cbdb36c180de.html

Simple and Easy Home Made Chilli Tomato Ketchup

by HOT JUAN on JANUARY 25, 2011 · 1 COMMENT

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Ketchup

Q. Why make your own Ketchup when there are so many in the shop and specialist suppliers these days.

A. Because it tastes even better when you make it yourself and you can modify it to your own tastes

I didn’t know as a kid that Ketchup was not just Heinz or Sainsburys (as that was our only local supermarket), over the years I have tried gourmet Ketchups on my travels, but they are never quite what I am looking for, the best ones to date has come from Mr Vikki’s and hisMax’s Ketchup which I loved.

So I have decided to start working on my own recipe, and what follows is now my base recipe for Hot Juan’s Ketchup.

Ingredients:

• 200 g Tomato Puree (1 tube)
• 250ml Cider Vinegar (I do live in Somerset)
• 100g Dark Brown Sugar (will make the Ketchup a much darker colour)
• 1 tbs Garlic Purée (crush your own, or buy a tube)
• 1 tsp Chilli Purée ( or 2-3 fresh chillies deseeded)
• 2 large Onions
• 1/4 tsp Allspice
• 2 tsp light Molasses or Honey (Molasses will make the Ketchup a much darker colour)
• 600 ml Water

The first thing we need to do is to tune the onions and chillies into a fine purée, I do this my finely chopping the onion and place it in my blender with the  de-seeded fresh chillies and about 100ml of the water.

Then add the onion/chilli purée to a thick bottomed pan with all the other ingredients and put on a low heat for a couple of hours, you will need to put a lid on it as it will spit and bubble, give it a stir every so often, once it is nice and smooth and thick, you can bottle it, make sure your bottle are clean and sterile and add the ketchup while it is still hot using a funnel.

You can modify this recipe adding some celery work well, but make sure you remove the strings, I have used a potato peeler to do this in the past, approx 5-6 sticks of celery to this volume of ketchup, what ever spices you like can be added, try just a little at first you can always add more and the base recipe already tastes very good.

Another great addition would be some smoky Chipotles, sock them well first after removing any seeds and the stem, remember to retain the water you soaked them in and use this as part of you ingredients.

Courtesy of Hot Juan as it appears that the ChileFoundry Website is closing down and I don't want to lose this recipe!

#piripiri #periperi Mozambique Peri Peri Grill Chicken - Immaculate Bites

#piripiri #periperi  Mozambique Peri Peri Grill Chicken - Immaculate Bites

Courtesy of - African Bites

Mozambique Peri Peri Grill Chicken

4 Jun, 2015 • African Dinner, African Healthy Recipes, African Recipes

Mozambique grill/ or roast chicken  with a spicy coconut creamy sauce  – So good, easy and tasty ! You’re going to want to make it all the time! 

Is there any more perfect way to cook than with the grill? Not according to me. As soon as the grill is fired up, everyone starts moving outside on the patio

There is something about the environment, everyone in anticipation of…. the aroma wafting through the air, your mouth salivating, and it all makes you just want to dive in, even before the meat is has reached it’s desired Doness.

 

Ok, confession time. I can’t tell you how many times, I have eaten steak that is barely cooked- I just can’t wait, not to talk of vegetables. I never do a sit down when it has to do with grill food. Unfortunately, when it comes to chicken you can’t afford to do that. And that arouses my appetite even more.

 This Mozambique grill peri peri chicken would that to you. I had previously made peri peri chicken – but this one is totally different from the other one. It’s got one secret ingredient that makes all the difference – coconut milk. This would be something totally different from your everyday grill chicken- I promise.

 

This is how to go about it –you need some fresh chili and it is totally up to you on how many to want to use. I only added one tiny chili pepper, I wanted the flavor not the heat (grilling for the kids too) 2 medium chili peppers works just perfect. Jalapeno peppers, fresh garlic, red pepper, basil, onions and oregano also are part of the spice blend. Blend everything together with some olive oil and coconut milk as needed.

 

Then add some paprika, salt, lemon and it works out just fine. All these ingredients come together to form one complex and versatile sauce that you can use on almost anything.

The good thing is you can adjust the pepper to suit your heat level. If you are a heat seeker then double the peppers!!!

5.0 from 8 reviews

Mozambique Peri Peri Grill Chicken

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

Author: AfricanBites

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: African

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• 3½ – 4 pound chicken cut up
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-teaspoon chicken bouillon (optional)
• ¼ cup olive oil or more
• ¼ cup chopped onions
• ¼ medium red pepper
• 1 fresh jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped, seeds removed
• 1 fresh chili pepper or more coarsely chopped
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste.
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• Juice of I medium sized lemon (adjust to taste)
• 4 large basil leaves
• 1-2 tablespoon fresh oregano
• ½ cup coconut milk

Instructions

1. Blend red pepper, jalapeno pepper, chili pepper, garlic, basil, oregano, and onions in a food processor or blender. Add olive oil, coconut milk to facilitate blending. Then mix in smoked paprika, lemon juice black or white pepper and coconut milk. Adjust for salt and seasoning. Refrigerate and use when ready. You may make this a day or more ahead of time.
2. Trim chicken of excess fat and pat dry with a cloth or paper napkin. Rub with lemon, and season with salt, chicken bouillon and pepper
3. Drench the chicken with peri- peri marinate, place in a zip lock bag, or sealed containers and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
4. When ready to grill. Using a thong remove chicken from the peri peri marinade and remove excess marinate. Reserve the marinade
5. Preheat grill to medium- high heat.
6. Place chicken on the grill and grill for about 10-15 minutes an each side you may need to turn the chicken occasionally on each side until it is cooked all the way. Do this in batches if you have a small grill.
7. In a small saucepan simmer the remaining peri peri marinade and the one from the chicken for about 7 minutes. Serve with chicken or mix with chicken

Oven Baked

1. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425°.
2. Line a baking pan with foil; top with a wire rack. Arrange chicken pieces out in a single layer.
3. Bake chicken until cooked through and skin is crispy, about 45-50 minutes-rotate half ways through-roughly 20 minutes.

#hotsauce #habanero Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe | Homemade Hot Chili Sauce Recipes

#hotsauce #habanero Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe | Homemade Hot Chili Sauce Recipes

Courtesy of "The Hot Sauce Addiction"

Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe

Sep 10, 2013 | Home Made Hot Sauce, Hot Sauce Recipes |

Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe

Every Homemade Hot Sauce fanatic seems to start with a Habanero Hot Sauce recipe, this Habanero Hot Sauce recipe is similar to one of the wing sauces I make but with a few extra twists and turns that makes it rather unique. Just like all of the Hot Sauce recipes on this site this Homemade Habanero sauce which you’ll be making from scratch will last for at least 6 months to 1 year. So the good news is that it can be made in advance.

So what makes this Habanero Hot Sauce recipe unique? It has carrots! okay so that’s an inside joke, if you have a look around the net at various Habanero sauce recipes you will notice that they all seem to have carrots and yes I’ve added in one for this recipe. But seriously the little twist to this recipe is caramelized limes and the addition of dark rum. Now if you really don’t want to add rum in I understand, there’s always whiskey or maybe a sweet bourbon in the kitchen that you could add instead.

 Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe Ingredients

• 5 Very ripe medium sized Tomatoes
• 20 small Red Habanero Peppers
• 1 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar (300ml)
• 2 Limes
• 1 Large Carrot
• 1 Large Nashi Pear
• 1/4 Cup Dark Rum (60ml)
• 1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 3 Heaped Tsp Garlic paste
• 1-2 Tsp Guar Gum

Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe Instructions

First off looking at the ingredients in the picture, ignore the palm sugar I used Brown Sugar and I only used one of the carrots.

• The first step can be caramelizing the limes. Cut the limes in half then add them into a very hot fry pan. I poured four small circles of olive oil onto the pan, waited for a minute or two for the oil to heat up and then placed the cut side of the limes down onto the oil.
• Let the limes cook for at least 5 minutes, if you let them sit until the base half of the lime turns a brown color it will be just perfect. The pan will end up rather black from the sugars in the limes, a good trick is to remove the limes onto a chopping board then go back to the hot pan and carefully add in some water. If you let the water boil even with some washing liquid added the black residue should come off easily when you do the washing up.

• Anyway, the limes are caramelized.
• Chop up the carrot and steam in a double boiler. If you have another method of cooking your carrots go for it. Personally, I would steam the fresh carrot and I’d stay away from a frozen pre-cooked product.
• Clean your 20 Red Habanero Peppers then chop the fat top section off each pepper. Don’t bother removing any seeds as the sauce will be strained later in the recipe.  Just chop off enough of the top of the pepper so you can check the inside of each pepper for any mold or bugs.
• Coarsely chop the five ripe tomatoes plus the 1 pear and add them into a blend/liquidizer along with the carrot and Habanero peppers.
• Add 1 tablespoon of garlic paste and squeeze the caramelized lime juice into the blender. If there are seeds in the limes you can squeeze them into a bowl or cup, remove the seeds then include in with the other Hot Sauce ingredients.
• Blend/Liquefy the Habanero Hot sauce for a few minutes.
• When the Habanero sauce ingredients are well blended we are ready to add the 2 teaspoons of Guar gum. Add the guar gum and 60mls Dark Rum together in a small bowl and mix. Slowly add the gum and alcohol mixture into the blended sauce, go slow to  reduce the chance of clumping. If you don’t have Guar gum then when we get to the step of straining the sauce skip that step. The Guar Gum helps stop the sauce separating and also thickens the mixture, it will last for a very large number of hot sauce recipes as you will only need to add a very small amount each time.
• Add the blended sauce into a pot along with the 300mls of Apple Cider,  1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce and 1 Tablespoon of Brown sugar then cook the Habanero Hot Sauce for 30 minutes with the lid on your pot.

• After 30 minutes of cooking the Hot Sauce at a slow rolling boil remove the pot from the heat and strain the sauce into another pot or the blender that’s already messy. You will get to a point where the sauce left in the strainer is too thick to freely go through the strainer. At this point work the Habanero sauce through the strainer with the back of the spoon, don’t just scrape the sauce against the strainer mesh. Try to also push the sauce down against the mesh.
• After a bit of work, you will get to the point where there is some thick dry paste in the strainer which you can throw out. In a lot of my older recipes, I wouldn’t have done this step but I’m starting to enjoy sauces with a smoother runnier consistency. If you follow this method the sauce will have a consistency that’s very close to a commercial sauce like Sriracha sauce for example.
• As mentioned earlier if you're not going to add the Guar Gum then don’t strain the sauce.
• Add the Habanero Sauce back into a pot and bring the sauce back to a rolling boil for at least 20 minutes with the lid off.
• After 20 minutes of boiling, you can then pour the sauce into a sterile glass bottle. Do this while the sauce is still hot and it should last for more than 6 months.

Another handy tip is to do with the use of vinegar bottles. I’ve noted before that you can buy the vinegar for a sauce and then sterilize and use the same glass vinegar bottle to house your Hot Sauce. You have to waste the remainder of the vinegar, but then you don’t have to go to the trouble of buying in special Hot Sauce bottles.

The new tip for the day is a sneaky one but hand for if you intend to use the hot sauce straight away. You can buy a new bottle of vinegar, use some of the vinegar then at the point that your sauce is ready for bottling tip out the vinegar and pour the very Hot sauce straight into the bottle without going to the trouble of sterilizing the bottle. You have to assume that the sauce won’t keep for as long as if it was packed in a very hot sterile bottle but if you intend on using the sauce over the next month I find this works very well.

So this is a great starter recipe if you're looking for a Habanero Hot Sauce recipe give it a go you’ll be happy with the result. It’s a very clean fresh sauce and the flavor of the sauce will take a while to develop after bottling but once it does you’ll end up with a Habanero sauce that has a number of soft after tastes that smoothly roll in after you have a taste. Sorry again for the long winded post but I do hope you enjoy this Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe.

#chillies History of the Clifton Chili Club

#chillies History of the Clifton Chili Club

The Club began when a bunch of mates who appreciated all things Chilli, thought they would make it official!  Simples!

The founder members all live in the Clifton/Bristol area and got to know each other through socializing and meeting by chance in the local pub. We all come from different backgrounds, have different careers and vary in age.  By chance in conversation, chillies came up and it was at this point we found that we all had another thing in common.

So it was at this stage that one of the members (forgotten who) mentioned that there was an open day at a chilli farm in Dorset and that we should all go.  The trip was organised and off we all went to Sea Spring farm, West Dorset (home of the Dorset Naga).  Whilst there we had a great time watching food demos and learning more about chillies, also, we met and chatted to the owners Michael & Joy Michaud.

To finish of the trip, we went out on a local fishing boat from West Bay (near Bridport) mackerel fishing (bashing), on return to dry land with our prize caught mackerel in hand, we then set about to BBQ them on Chesil beach, what a way to finish off a day.

After returning to our local watering hole and discussing the day's activities and our admiration for all things chilli we discussed creating a club.  The seed was sown and our inspiration was all fired up!  Firstly we came up with the club name, which was very apt and had a ring to it!  Although often people get their tongues tied and pronounce it ”Clifton Chilli Chub” works though!!  Secondly Jim Booth started up the website along with Chilli Dave, and with no prior web building experience, it is continuously being improved and updated all of the time with new features etc.

After a couple more field trips to local growers, suppliers and food festivals, the club formally formed in the summer of 2009, and since has grown from strength to strength with our own website, youtube, twitter channels. The rest is history in the writing as they say!

Peri Peri Sauce | Sarwat's Family Kitchen

#periperi #piripiri Peri Peri Sauce | Sarwat's Family Kitchen

Peri Peri Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Votes

Ingredients:

1. Kashmiri red chilies 6
2. Button red chilies 12
3. Whole coriander (crushed) 1 tbsp
4. Oil ½ cup
5. Vinegar ½ cup
6. Onion 1 small
7. Lemon juice 2 tbsp
8. Lemon salt ½ tsp heaped
9. Red pepper (crushed) 2 tbsp
10. Garlic 1 tsp
11. Mustard seeds (crushed) 1 tbsp heaped

Method:

• Soak the large chilies and button red chilies in 1 cup of water overnight.
• Put all the above ingredients in a blender.
• Blend for 5 minutes till all the things mix together in a form of a sauce.
• Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

#piripiri #periperi Encona African Peri Peri sauce reviewed by @jamopepper

Encona African Peri Peri sauce reviewed by @jamopepper

It was not until 1975 that Econa first introduced their Hot Pepper Sauce range under the ‘Encona’ name and they haven’t looked back since. Having served the Caribbean community in the UK for over 40 years supplying quality sauces prepared to original recipes and containing blends of the most authentic chillies, spices and ingredients. Their iconic square embossed glass bottle has become the category symbol for quality, trust and delicious, authentic flavours in this community.

Encona now has a range of over 20 sauces and marinades. Today they have kindly provided me with a bottle of their African Peri Peri sauce to review.

Ingredients: Water, Chilli Mash (Chillies, Water, Acetic Acid, Salt ), Spirit Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Lemon Rind, Salt, Modified Maize Starch, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Garlic Puree, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Stabiliser: Xanthan Gum, Birds Eye Chilli, Preservative, Potassium Sorbate, Colour, Paprika extract.

Their bottles are different to most with the square embossed glass and their labels are very to the point matching as a larger set and just telling you what is inside, usually with a small picture to match the flavour. In this case the bottle has a giraffe. Encona African Peri-Peri Sauce claims to explore the taste of Africa by using a special blend of African birds eye chillies, aromatic garlic, zesty lemon and spices, to me the aroma is certainly zesty and you can even see some of the spices in the sauce. Overcoming this aroma though is a rather chemical feel of the different preservatives and stabilising that are necessary for a sauce produced on this scale. I did find the sauce rather tasty though often reaching for more to add to my food, it does fit the bill of a basic Peri-Pieri sauce with the right flavours and heat coming through to your taste buds so you won’t be disappointed. I am a sucker for the sauces from a certain chicken restaurant though so in my head I am making the comparison and though they taste similar one is clearly above the rest, but this may be down to personal preference.

Encona Sauces are certainly versatile. You can use them as a dipping sauce, a marinade, a cooking ingredient or just an everyday table sauce. They can even be easily used to drizzle into stir-fries, rice dishes, dips and salad dressings. Being a Peri-Peri sauce this sauce lends itself naturally to chicken and great for a dollop onto burgers too.

This is a sauce for the consumer not for the enthusiast, that said if you like the taste go for it you can find it in all good supermarkets and you still get a tasty hit. Would I buy other sauces in this range, yes but they would be more of a tasty table sauce for use rather than to expand my hot sauce stash.

Flavour	(5/10)
Heat	(4/10)
Packaging	(6/10)
Value	(5/10)
Overall	(5/10)