Johannesburg - Greengrocers’ shelves are stocked with of chillies of every size and heat strength, from the tiny, bright-red bird’s-eye chilli to the mild, large jalapeños.
It’s the perfect time to take advantage of these spicy morsels to prepare chilli hot recipes.
Chilli sauce is a good way to use up an abundance of red chillies and much nicer than the bottled stuff you buy in the shops. It’s best to wear gloves when working with a lot of chillies. I know, from personal experience, that the pungent oils permeate your fingertips and can burn for days. Another good way to preserve chillies is to dry them. To do this, lay them on a cooling rack so that air can circulate under them and leave them in a well-ventilated area until completely dry. They can also be strung and hung up.
It will take several weeks for chillies to dry out completely. If they are not completely dry when you store them, they will go mouldy. Once dried, they will keep for a long time in an airtight container.
Remember that most of the heat is in the pips and membrane, so if you want your dish to be slightly milder, remove the pips and the membrane. Also the rule of thumb is that usually the smaller the chilli, the hotter it is.
Chicken with chilli jam and cashews
Serves 4
Chilli jam
5 dried long red chillies
60ml oil
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
100g palm sugar, finely grated
30ml tamarind purée
Chicken
20ml peanut oil
500g chicken breast fillets, sliced into strips
1 bunch of spring onions, sliced into 3cm lengths on the diagonal
100g cashew nuts, toasted
15ml fish sauce
30ml fresh coriander, chopped
30ml fresh basil,
roughly torn
Chilli jam: Soak the chillies in hot water for 10 minutes. Then drain, remove the seeds and chop. Place in a blender with the oil, red pepper, garlic and red onion and blend until smooth. Heat a wok or frying pan over medium heat and add the chilli mixture and the grated palm sugar. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tamarind and simmer for 10-15 minutes until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Use what you need and store the rest in the fridge for later use.
Chicken: Heat the wok, add the oil and fry the chicken until brown and tender. Add the spring onions and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the cashew nuts, fish sauce and 60ml of the chilli jam. Mix to coat well.
Stir in the coriander and basil and serve immediately.
Sweet chilli sauce
Makes about 500ml
250g long fresh red chillies, stems removed and washed
2 cloves of garlic
375ml white wine vinegar
375ml castor sugar
Halve a few of the chillies and place in the bowl of a food processor.
Halve and de-seed the remaining chillies. Coarsely chop and place in the food processor with the garlic and 125ml of the vinegar. Process until finely chopped.
Place the chilli mixture, the remaining vinegar and the sugar in a large saucepan over a low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until thickened.
Check that the setting point has been reached. Put a saucer in the freezer, then drop a spoonful of the sweet chilli sauce on it. If if forms a gel, it is ready.
Remove from the heat immediately and pour into sterilised bottles.
Pumpkin coconut chilli soup
Serves 6-8
600ml vegetable stock
30ml fish sauce
4 curry leaves
500g pumpkin, peeled and coarsely chopped
400g tin of coconut milk
2 red chillies, de-seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lime
125ml chopped fresh coriander
extra sliced chilli, for garnish
In a large pot, combine the vegetable stock, fish sauce, curry leaves and pumpkin. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender.
Remove from the heat. Discard the curry leaves and blend until smooth.
Return to the heat and add the coconut milk, chopped chilli and lime juice. Heat, without boiling, for 5 minutes.
Stir in the coriander.
Divide between bowls and top with extra chilli slices.
Baked chilli poppers
Makes 24
12-14 green jalapeño chillies, halved and de-seeded
100g goat’s cheese
250g ricotta cheese
2ml cayenne pepper
2ml dried chilli flakes
grated zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
125ml grated mozzarella cheese
125ml chopped fresh chives
125ml panko breadcrumbs
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Lightly grease an oven tray with oil and place the prepared chillies on the tray.
In a bowl, combine the ingredients up to the breadcrumbs and mix well. Taste for salt and pepper and add more if needed.
Fill the jalapeños with the cheese mixture and sprinkle each with breadcrumbs. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Chilli caramel pineapple
Serves 4
250ml brown sugar
125ml water
30g butter
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 pineapples, peeled and sliced into 1cm rounds
lime sorbet, to serve
Stir the sugar and water over a medium heat for 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Add the butter and chopped chilli and boil for 5 minutes, until thickened. Meanwhile, griddle the pineapple slices until lightly charred. Place on a serving dish and drizzle with the chilli caramel. Serve with a scoop of lime sorbet.
The Angela Day recipe column is published in The Star, Pretoria News, Cape Argus and Daily News