[CH] Hot sauces prove to be no sweat
Linda Hutchinson (lipant@sympatico.ca)
Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:42:15 -0400
Hot sauces prove to be no sweat
RENE JOHNSTON / TORONTO STAR
Customize your condiments with just the right amount of heat and fresh
ingredients
Jul 15, 2009 04:30 AM
Eric Vellend
Special to the Star
One positive food trend is the do-it-yourself movement. From curious home
cooks to seasoned chefs, everyone seems to be trying his or her hand at
curing meats, pickling veggies and churning ice cream.
I applied the DIY ethic to hot sauces - with amazing results. Not only are
they lower in cost and higher in quality than store-bought versions, they
can be tailored to your specific taste buds. After all, hot sauce is a very
personal condiment.
The inspiration to make my own hot sauces came from trying harissa for the
first time. It was the Bon Cap brand in a tube, and I found it too bitter
and one-dimensional. I decided to make my own using a recipe from Samuel and
Samantha Clark's Casa Moro cookbook and was blown away by this sweet, spicy
and deeply flavoured condiment.
and thick, and chipotle sauce that was less like Tabasco and more like
barbecue sauce, albeit a blazingly hot one.
Keeping this in mind, feel free to tinker with these recipes, adjusting them
to your palate and sensitivity to heat.
And for those of you new to the DIY movement, hot sauces are a good place to
start. They are a hell of a lot easier than making your own charcuterie,
pickles and ice cream.
Chipotle sauce
Jul 15, 2009 04:30 AM
This is like an extremely spicy barbecue sauce. It's indispensable on taco
night, a great dip for grilled chicken and pork, and adds smoky heat to
mayonnaise. Chipotles are smoke-dried red jalapeños. They can be bought
whole or in powder form, but are usually found canned, packed in adobo
sauce.
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
400 ml can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp each: cumin, salt
DIRECTIONS
In medium pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring, until
soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook 1 minute. Add
chipotles, adobo sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, cumin and salt. Raise heat to
high and bring to boil. Reduce to gentle simmer. Cook, stirring, for 10
minutes.
Purée in blender until smooth. Strain through fine-mesh sieve. Cool to room
temperature. Transfer to glass jar and refrigerate. Use within 1 month.
Makes 2 cups.
Star-tested by Eric Vellend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TheStar.com
Harrisa
Jul 15, 2009 04:30 AM
Adapted from Casa Moro by Samuel and Samantha Clark. This North African
condiment is more about flavour than heat. It can be used to spike salad
dressings, marinades and tomato sauce, and it's especially delicious with
couscous and eggs.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb (225 g) red finger chilies (about 12)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbsp caraway seeds, ground
2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 roasted red pepper
1 tbsp each: tomato paste, red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt + freshly ground pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Remove and discard chili stems and split chilies in half lengthwise. Using a
teaspoon, carefully scrape out seeds and discard.
Place chilies, garlic, caraway, cumin and paprika in bowl of food processor.
Purée into paste, scraping down bowl several times. Add roasted pepper,
tomato paste and vinegar. Purée until smooth.
Transfer contents to mixing bowl. Gradually stir in oil. Season with salt
and pepper. Transfer to glass jar and refrigerate. Use within 1 month.
Makes 1-1/2 cups.
Star-tested by Eric Vellend.
eric.vellend@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thai sweet chili sauce
IRENE JOHNSTON / TORONTO STAR
Jul 15, 2009 04:30 AM
This dipping sauce is terrific with spring rolls, Vietnamese cold rolls,
satays and just about anything with a crispy coating, especially chicken and
shrimp. For a more authentic version, season it with Asian fish sauce
instead of salt.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
DIRECTIONS
In small pan, stir together sugar, 1/2 cup water, vinegar, garlic, chili
flakes and salt. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce to simmer and cook 3
minutes.
In small bowl, stir cornstarch with remaining 2 tablespoons water. Stir into
sauce and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
Transfer contents to glass jar and refrigerate. Use within 2 months.
Makes 1 cup.
Star-tested by Eric Vellend.
eric.vellend@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but
while we are here we might as well dance.