Red Hot Sauce Book E-Book

Dan May

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Seitenzahl: 217

Beschreibung

100 recipes for fiery sauces, marinades and rubs, showcasing the world's most flavoursome chillies. Arranged by geographical region, from Africa and the Mediterranean, to India, to Southeast Asia, this book is jam-packed with thrilling flavours. This book has something for everyone, with offerings from all around the globe spanning from mild to super spicy. Each recipe is easy to make, very versatile and always comes with a serving suggestion. For example, the African Chermoula is delicious with sardines and mackerel served with roasted veg; The Ultimate Peri-Peri Marinade pairs excellently with chicken and shrimp; the eye-wateringly hot Ethiopian Berbere Paste adds depth and pizzazz to casseroles as well as making an unusual and memorable dip; and the Mediterranean Za'atar Spice Blend is a wonderful addition to hummus or a fresh salad. As well as plenty of short, simple recipes for sauces and marinades, there are bigger recipes for truly impressive and authentic dishes, such as Moroccan tagines, Indian curries and Mexican classics. Find the perfect Guacamole recipe, a Super-Speedy Patatas Bravas Sauce or a Crab, Lime and Scotch Bonnet Sauce. With detailed, authentic information on each region and chilli, this book is perfect for anyone wanting to inject some spice into their kitchen.

Leseprobe

Senior Designer Barbara Zuñiga

Commissioning Editor Céline Hughes

Production Controller Gary Hayes

Art Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Food Stylist Lizzie Harris

Prop Stylist Róisín Nield

Indexer Hilary Bird

First published in 2013 as

The Red Hot Chilli (Chile) Sauce Book

This revised edition published in 2022 by

Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields

London WC1R 4BW

and

341 E 116th St

New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Dan May 2013, 2022

Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2013, 2022

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-78879-440-4

eISBN: 978-1-78879-464-0

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

A CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Printed in China

NOTES

• The recipes in this book are given in both metric and imperial measurements. However, the spellings are primarily British and this includes all terminology relating to chilli peppers. British “chilli” and “chillies” are used where Americans would use “chile”, “chili” and “chiles”.

• All spoon measurements are level unless otherwise specified.

• All herbs are fresh unless otherwise specified.

• All eggs are medium (UK) or large (US) unless otherwise specified. Uncooked or partially cooked eggs should not be served to the very young, the very old, those with compromised immune systems, or to pregnant women.

• When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before use. If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm soapy water and rinse before using.

• Ovens should be preheated to the specified temperature. Recipes in this book were tested using a regular oven. If using a fan/convection oven, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for adjusting temperatures.

• Sterilize preserving jars before use. Wash them in hot, soapy water and rinse in boiling water. Place in a large saucepan and then cover with hot water. With the lid on, bring the water to the boil and continue boiling for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, then leave the jars in the hot water until just before they are to be filled. Invert the jars onto clean kitchen paper to dry. Sterilize the lids for 5 minutes, by boiling, or according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Jars should be filled and sealed while they are still hot.

contents

Introduction

Mexico & South America

Africa

Caribbean

Mediterranean

USA

India

South-East Asia

China & Japan

Suppliers

Index

Acknowledgments

Introduction

When I wrote The Red Hot Chilli Cookbook it gave me the wonderful opportunity to share some of the things I have always loved to cook. Their roots were in places I had visited and things I had tasted but their unifying thread was that they had been gathered almost by chance over many years – and of course contained lots of chilli!

This book was slightly different; many of the recipes were ones I have, in principle, known for years and have loved to make but as I began to look at the ingredients and the way people cooked around the world I realized that each culture’s approach to their food needed to be considered before I could really understand the processes and skills that make each recipe special. The traditional techniques that can so often be replaced with modern kitchen conveniences had genuine value in the flavour and consistency of the finished paste or sauce. Each one is special because it represents a particular flavour combination or way of doing things that is often unique to a small geographic area. Although this book is undoubtedly about chillies and the love of chillies it is also about cooking, eating and sharing and how universally important these things are no matter where you happen to live.

The inescapable fact is that food is key to our existence. The only thing we require with more regularity if we want to stay alive is water; and yet we have continued to erode its importance with our constant scrabbling to find some way of producing it more cheaply, more quickly or more conveniently as though our basic human requirement was in reality an inconvenience. I believe that something so vital and with the potential to provide so much pleasure should be afforded the time and attention befitting its role in our lives. If we look out into the wider world we see culture after culture where food is respected and dishes are made by tried and tested methods that show an understanding of the ingredients. This understanding combined with the patience required to make sometimes complex pastes and sauces illustrates the importance of food and its preparation in the regions in this book.

People often associate the decline in an interest in “real” food and an increasing love of heavily processed food with increasing wealth; this in itself seems weird but to a degree the figures back this up. We do seem to be exceptional in the way we insist that our food should be as cheap as possible, no matter what the real cost.

With the exception of the USA, people in the UK spend less as a percentage of their income (less than 8%) on food than any other comparable country in the world. If we make a direct comparison with average expenditure across other European countries we find that the UK only spends 53% or just over half the amount our European counterparts regularly spend per person on food. It is a simple fact that (for example) Indonesia which spends 43% of annual income on food has to do so because average incomes are considerably lower, but given the European example it is clear that some countries just place a higher value on the quality and freshness of their food and on paying the producers a fair price to make it for them! They also like to have a say in the way it is delivered to them – weekly food markets, butchers, online, and also via the supermarket. Food undoubtedly becomes cheaper if it is heavily processed (thus has a longer shelf life), is sourced on a huge scale and sold through a few channels. But this model does little for maintaining real choice, quality and an understanding of the food we are eating. In an effort to feed the profits of “the delivery channel” everything else involved suffers and inevitably corners are cut. In the population as a whole it inexorably leads to less fresh food, less cooking from scratch and even more worryingly, fewer of the skills required to do this being passed to the next generation; and this doesn’t even begin to address the inherent health issues.

By the time I was 10, against my better judgement, I could have a pretty good stab at spaghetti Bolognese, a roast dinner or a decent curry and I was not exceptional. I recently carried out an ad-hoc survey with a group of my 10-year-old son’s friends and found not a single one could cook any of these dishes or even similar, and more than half of them had never even helped to make a single meal they had eaten. To me, cooking is a life skill; it enables you to look after yourself. It is inconceivable to imagine this as less important than, for example, the ability to create a PowerPoint presentation, use social media, or drive.

Culturally it seems preparing fresh home-cooked meals is not regarded highly enough within our modern families to warrant the time or effort involved – why bother if no one appreciates it? It is interesting (or should I say impossible) to imagine say an Italian, Spanish or Greek family having no regard for the person who cooked for them or interest in the story of their food!

But it is not solely health and nutritional benefits that are gained from complete cooking – to me these are almost side issues. The real benefit comes in the social aspects of food, of taking the time to sit down and eat and talk. If I search my mind for significant days in my life, those that immediately spring forward are ones that involved cooking and eating with family and friends and the fun that ensued.

The most popular dishes of countries give us great insight into their culture, and the British willingness to adopt ideas and flavours from all over the world makes our food among the most interesting anywhere in the world. We readily accept and encourage change, which is probably what has kept our culture so alive and exciting over the past 150 years. There are few places in the world where chillies and spicy food have been so enthusiastically embraced or where the culture of eating chillies and challenging your palate reaches such extremes.

Despite the huge cultural differences between the Caribbean, the UK, Spain, South Africa, India, China, the USA and all the other regions covered in this book, there exists a unified “chilli culture” that dares itself to eat hotter and hotter food, that loves to laugh at anyone who exceeds their tolerance and loves to share their food and experiences with anyone who is interested. There is fun and experimentation, and behind it all there is more often than not a willing social interaction, collaboration and good food!

So do we use cooking as an excuse to use spices and chillies or are they the excuse to cook? I don’t think it really matters; as long as the two go hand in hand we get the fun and the benefits of both; as well as hopefully preserving some pretty fantastic old recipes and learning how to use them. To paraphrase the legendary but apocryphal quote by Benjamin Franklin about beer: maybe chillies are proof that God loves us and want us to be happy!

Noted Chillies:The Poblano which, when ripened fully and dried, is referred to as the Ancho, Chipotle, Orange Habanero, Rocoto, Pasilla, Brazilian Starfish, Aji Amarillo (pictured here), Aji Limo.

Chilli Facts and Fiction: Aztec Kings used to drink a combination of hot chocolate and crushed dried chillies to “stimulate” themselves before visiting their concubines.

Chapter One

Mexico & South America

The home of chillies. All chillies originate from the northern Amazon basin, the northern part of South America and Central America.

• The Chiltepin or Tepin chilli is commonly regarded as the oldest variety in the world. The “Mother Chilli”, as it is also known, still thrives in the wilds of Northern Mexico where, despite the harsh environment, it can live and fruit for up to 20 years.

• Peru and Bolivia were the first countries to grow chillies for food and medicine. There is evidence of chilli cultivation taking place 5000–6000 years ago not only in both these countries but in Ecuador too.

• Brazil seems most likely to be the country from which chillies began to spread all over the world at the hands of Portuguese traders, beginning in 1500 when Cabral landed on the Brazilian coast.

• Most varieties of chillies thrive in this region, but South America is especially known for the Capsicum Pubescens (Rocoto, Locoto and Manzano), famed for their hairy leaves and stems, and Capsicum Baccatum species (Aji chillies – Aji Amarillo, Aji Limon), with a delicious citrusy overtone to their flavours.

• Mexico has the widest variety of chillies in commercial production and is the source of most of the world’s Chipotle chillies – dried, smoked red Jalapeños, used in countless barbecue sauces and marinades.

• Our English word “chilli” is actually derived directly from the Aztec or Nahuatl language.

Ají Criollo

This is a very fine salsa recipe from Ecuador. Although “Capsicum Baccatum” chillies are the least common throughout the rest of the world, in South America (and to a certain extent Central America) they are the most prevalent. The various Ajís grow remarkably well in a greenhouse or on a windowsill. However, if you haven’t grown any or can’t source any, just substitute with Habanero chillies at a 50–75% ratio, as they can be considerably hotter!

4 Ají or 2–3 Habanero chillies, deseeded and chopped

a good handful of coriander/cilantro stalks and leaves, chopped

3 plump garlic cloves, chopped

juice of ½ lemon

1 small onion or shallot, finely chopped

sea salt

100 ml/scant ½ cup water

1 spring onion/scallion, chopped into 5-mm/¼-inch pieces

Put the chillies, coriander/cilantro, garlic, lemon juice and onion into mortar and pound with the pestle to combine. Season with salt and add as much of the water as required to loosen the mixture. Continue to pound until you have an even, yet textured, paste. Mix the spring onion/scallion through and serve.

I would use this:as a light, hot marinade for chicken before grilling/broiling, or as a dip for strips of barbecued beef or chicken.

Green Honey Salsa

Wild Mexican honey has a distinctive flavour and is not overly sweet, making it perfect for rounding off the flavours of this green salsa. If you can’t get any fresh Poblano chillies, try to find any large, very mild chilli to use in its place.

1 large green sweet/bell pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

1 Poblano chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 green Jalapeño chillies, deseeded and cut into fine strips

a small handful of coriander/cilantro, finely chopped

2–3 teaspoons dark Mexican honey

a good squeeze of lime juice

1 teaspoon aged Tequila

a drizzle of olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix together all the ingredients (except the oil, and salt and pepper), cover and refrigerate for 1–2 hours before serving. Season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle with a little olive oil just before serving.

I would use this:in spicy chicken fajitas.

Classic Guacamole

If you want a classic dip with a long history, then look no further than guacamole – originally made by the Aztecs in the 16th century. In its purest form, all it contains is avocado mashed with salt, but over the centuries more and more variations have been developed. This is my favourite version of the dip.

3 ripe avocados, skinned, pitted and roughly chopped

1 vine-ripened tomato, skinned, deseeded and roughly chopped

3 fresh green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

juice of 2 small limes

a little extra virgin olive oil

2 spring onions/scallions, finely chopped

a small bunch of coriander/cilantro, finely chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, mash the avocados, tomato and chillies together with the lime juice. The consistency should be chunky yet smooth – add a little olive oil to help achieve this. Add the onions and coriander/cilantro and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

I would use this:with tortillas to dip; on nachos; on the side of a spicy chili; or in homemade burritos.

Salsa Roja

This is a hot salsa of charred tomato and 3 classic Mexican chillies. If you can’t get fresh De Arbol and Guajillo, use dried, toast them for 2 minutes on each side, soak in a small amount of boiling water for about 20 minutes, then remove their stems and deseed them. Reserve the soaking liquid for the recipe.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4–5 large plum tomatoes, halved and core removed

2–3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 fresh Serrano or Jalapeño chilli, deseeded and chopped

3 fresh or dried De Arbol chillies, deseeded and chopped

5 fresh or dried Guajillo chillies, deseeded and chopped

a small bunch of coriander/cilantro, finely chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a heavy-based frying pan or griddle over fairly high heat. Add a little oil and fry the onion and tomatoes hard until they begin to blacken (about 7–11 minutes), but stir as required to prevent burning. Add the garlic and cook for a further 3–4 minutes.

Transfer the contents of the pan to a food processor with the oregano and chillies. Add the remaining oil as you blend (and the liquid you soaked the chillies in, if you used dried) until you have a smooth and even paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the coriander/cilantro and briefly blend again to mix this through.

Place into a tightly sealed jar and allow to cool. The flavours will improve over the next few days if you can wait that long! The salsa will keep for 1–2 weeks, refrigerated. Serve at room temperature.

I would use this:to spice up sandwiches, sausages and burgers; with nachos or tacos, or in burritos.

Cochinita Pibil

This dish is great cooked over an open fire or even in a fire pit, but this version does not require you to dig big holes in your garden unless an uncontrollable urge overcomes you. It is also a fantastic way of making pulled pork. Once cooked, the meat can be easily shredded with a couple of forks. Ladle the cooking juices over the meat and serve with tortillas or coleslaw or barbecue sauce of your choice!

Yucatecan Achiote Paste (Recado Rojo) (page 19)

120 ml/½ cup sour orange juice, or 3 tablespoons orange juice and 5 tablespoons lime juice

2 kg/4½ lbs. pork shoulder, bone in

a few banana leaves, hard stems removed (optional)

Red pickles

2 red onions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon sea salt

150 ml/⅔ cup red wine vinegar

To serve

wheat tortillas

cooked basmati rice

hot salsa

Serves 6

Mix together the Yucatecan Achiote Paste and juice. Blend thoroughly with a stick blender or in a food processor: this will help to remove the last of the slight grittiness that is often a feature of anything made with annatto seeds. Take the pork and pierce repeatedly with a knife, then rub the paste all over it. This may stain your hands a bit, but it is worth it to get the marinade working well. Cover and marinate in the fridge overnight.

The next day, if you are using banana leaves and they feel like they have dried out, soak them in water for about 30 minutes. Take a suitably large and deep roasting pan. Now lay the banana leaves in the pan so that they overlap each other and overhang the sides of the pan (you will want to fold them over the meat). Put the pork on the banana leaves and fold the leaves over the top to encase the pork. Lay more leaves horizontally across it and tuck them inside the end of the pan to securely encase the pork. (If you are not using banana leaves, wrap the pork in foil instead.)

Preheat the oven to 90–100˚C (225˚F) Gas ½. Roast the pork for at least 6 hours. When the meat is cooked it will come away from the bone very easily. We have often cooked this for up to 10 hours and it just gets better. If you are worried about the joint drying out, wrap the top of the pan, over the banana leaves, in foil to help seal in the moisture.

To make the red pickles, put the onions in a large glass or plastic bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 15 seconds, then drain in a sieve/strainer. Shake off as much excess moisture as you can. Put the sieve/strainer back over the bowl, sprinkle the onions with the salt and mix well. Leave for 15 minutes to allow the moisture to drip out of the onions.

Give the onions a little squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then pack them quite tightly in a clean jar. Put the vinegar in a saucepan, bring to the boil and boil vigorously for 2–3 minutes. Pour enough hot vinegar into the jar to cover the onions. Seal the lid tightly and put somewhere cool. Once it has reached room temperature, shake it and put it in the fridge until the cochinita is cooked and ready to serve.

To serve, lift the pickles from the vinegar with a fork and allow to drain. Place in a serving dish. Spoon the excess fat off the pork juices in the roasting pan. Shred the pork, ladle the cooking juices over it and serve with the pickles, wheat tortillas, rice and hot salsa.

Roast Tomato and Chipotle Hot Sauce

This is another absolute classic from Mexico with loads of variations, but I like the way this one balances the smokiness of the Chipotle chillies with the sweetness of the onion and roasted tomatoes. It’s one of the best additions to a chicken or sausage sandwich ever invented.

5–6 Chipotle chillies

400 g/14 oz. vine-ripened tomatoes (the riper the better), halved

2 fresh bay leaves

2 thyme sprigs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

3–4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 small glass of red wine

2 tablespoons agave syrup

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the chillies in a bowl and add a little warm water. Allow to soak for 20–30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190˚C (375˚F) Gas 5.

Put the tomatoes and in a roasting pan with the bay leaves and thyme. Drizzle with most of the oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast in the preheated oven until the tomatoes are starting to brown – 45–50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.

Heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan. Fry the onion gently until it begins to turn golden, add the garlic and fry for a further 3–4 minutes. Add the wine and allow to cook for a further few minutes to steam off the alcohol. Remove from the heat.

Take the chillies from the water, remove their stems and deseed them. Put in a food processor or blender with the onion, garlic and wine mixture. Remove the skins from the roasted tomatoes and add the flesh to the food processor. Blend to a smooth paste.

Transfer the paste to a small saucepan with the agave syrup, mustard and oregano and mix thoroughly. Heat over medium heat to a gentle simmer, stirring regularly. Reduce the heat and allow to cook for a further 10 minutes until the sauce reduces to your desired consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper as required.

The sauce will happily keep for several weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.

I would use this:with a full English (cooked) breakfast!

Yucatecan Achiote Paste (Recado Rojo)

Mexico is a huge country; one of the largest in the world. It is made up of 31 very individual states and as a result there is a depth and variety in the national cuisine that we are only just beginning to recognize. A great example of this diversity is the food of Yucatán. Although perhaps the most visited area of the country by tourists, its food is unlike that of other parts of Mexico. It is the traditional home to the Mayan people, and their influence (along with that of Spanish and Caribbean cuisine) is very apparent in local dishes. This paste features heavily in many dishes including Cochinita Pibil (see page 16).

2 tablespoons annatto seeds

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

5–6 allspice berries

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons Mexican wild oregano

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

8 garlic cloves, crushed

½ teaspoon finely chopped Habanero chilli

60 ml/¼ cup sour orange juice, or 1 tablespoon orange juice and 3 tablespoons lime juice

Put the annatto, peppercorns, allspice, cumin, oregano and salt in a heavy-duty mortar and grind together with a pestle. Annatto seeds are very hard, so the heavier the grinding implement the easier it will be. You can always use a coffee or spice grinder. When you have achieved a fairly fine grind, add the cinnamon, garlic and chilli and continue grinding. Add the orange juice and pound to a smooth paste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. The paste will keep for several months in an airtight container in the fridge.

I would use this:with pork, turkey, rice and fish. See also page 16.

Mole Poblano

Mole Poblano has reached a status so legendary that it is easy to be afraid even to attempt making one! It is yet another – I’m sorry – recipe that has no shortcuts and requires a degree of devotion to complete, but it is worth it. Delicious and immensely satisfying, once you have made it from scratch, you will not only feel very smug but you will also see just how poor storebought “moles” can be. Mole Poblano is perhaps the best way of using up leftover turkey and, as such, it deserves to become something of a Boxing Day or Thanksgiving tradition, rather than serving dry sandwiches and ill-considered casseroles.

4 Guajillo chillies, deseeded and roughly torn

6 Ancho chillies, deseeded and roughly torn

3 Pasilla chillies, deseeded and roughly torn

3-cm/1¼-inch piece cinnamon stick, roughly broken

½ piece star anise

¼ teaspoon coriander seeds

3 cloves

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

8 black peppercorns

¼ teaspoon dried marjoram

½ teaspoon Mexican wild oregano

a large pinch of dried thyme

½ onion, quartered

10 garlic cloves, skin on

200 g/7 oz. tomatillos

120 g/4½ oz. ripe tomatoes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

50 g/⅓ cup almonds

30 g/1 oz. walnuts

20 g/¾ oz. peanuts

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

½ small corn tortilla, torn into small pieces

50 g/⅓ cup raisins

500 ml/2 cups chicken stock, warmed

50 g/2 oz. Mexican chocolate, broken into pieces

sea salt and ground white pepper

Put the chillies in a heavy-based frying pan and dry-roast them until they begin to char slightly. Remove from the heat immediately. Put the chillies in a bowl, add a little hot water and allow to soak for 20–30 minutes. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid.

In the same pan, toast the cinnamon, star anise, coriander, cloves, sesame seeds and peppercorns over medium heat until they begin to brown and release their aromas. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool. Grind in a coffee or spice grinder until fine. Mix with the herbs and set aside.

Preheat a grill/broiler. Put the onion, garlic, tomatillos and tomatoes in a roasting pan under the hot grill/broiler and toast, turning frequently, until each ingredient is beginning to lightly char. You may want to do this in batches of like ingredients. Allow to cool, then peel the garlic.