Summer sauces : red jalapeño hot sauce

What to do when you have an overload of jalapeños in the garden and they ripen into hot and spicy red jalapeños? The answer is to make a delicious red jalapeño hot sauce!

It’s oh so simple, takes so little time and you can control what’s in it. Have you seen the amount of added sugar in the store-bought equivalents? It’s ridiculous.

I’m using fresh red jalapeños picked from the garden. They’re simply green jalapeños that have been allowed to ripen longer, therefore become sweeter (naturally) and also develop more capsaicin (which makes them spicier)!

Red jalapeño hot sauce:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. flavourless oil (avocado, canola, vegetable)
• 20 red jalapeños
• 2 medium onions
• 7 garlic cloves
• 1 cup vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp cumin
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Roughly chop the onions, mince the garlic, and slice the jalapeños* (you can choose to remove the seeds if you do not want this sauce to be that spicy)
2. Heat oil in a large pot and brown onions and garlic.
3. Add the peppers and allow to soften, approximately 3 mins.
4. Add the water and simmer for 15-20 min.
5. Remove from stove and cool.
6. Place in blender and add the vinegar.
7. Taste the product, and season to taste.
8. Pass the mix with a sieve**.
9. Keep refrigerated and enjoy.

*Wear gloves!

**You can keep the remaining flesh and seeds to make a sambal. All that is required is lime juice and more garlic!