Habanero and Garlic hot sauce

I’m not a big fan of hot sauce because, well, it’s HOT but I figured that since I was growing Habaneros in my herb garden I might as well take a stab at making some and see where I wound up and if it turned out to be too hot for me then my son would take it because he likes the stuff. Now before you call me a wuss let me explain that I love spiced food I’m just not a lover of spicy food and when I say spicy I generally mean hot.  I mean let’s examine this for a moment. You go out to dinner or you make a really nice dinner at home only to douse it in Hot Sauce so you can no longer tell what the dish originally tasted like. Seems like a waste to me but hey…… whatever floats yer boat.

This particular recipe is one that is a “little bit of this and a little bit of that”—– meaning I have taken bits and pieces of various recipes to come up with this one and like I have said before “what fun is there in cooking if you can’t twist and turn a recipe to make it your own?”

I now present to you my first ever foray into the world of making Hot Sauce…… hope you like it.

Ingredients:

–  6 to 8 orange Habaneros

–  4 to 6 garlic cloves

–  2 Cups White vinegar

–  4 tablespoons white sugar

–  4 green onions – roughly chopped ( you can substitute a medium white onion if you wish)

–  2 Large Plum tomatoes – rough chopped

–  3 tablespoons Smoked Paprika

– 2 to 3 Limes

Putting it all together:

–  Wearing disposable gloves cut the Habaneros in half and seed them – careful not to wipe your eyes while wearing the gloves

–  Put the Habaneros, vinegar and garlic in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil — reduce heat and simmer

–  When the Habaneros have softened, about ten minutes, transfer the ingredients of the saucepan to a blender or food processor and squeeze in the lime juice

–  Puree until smooth

–  Add the remaining ingredients and again puree until smooth

–  Pour the hot sauce into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator

The finished product should look something like this

As in everything else you can adjust the heat level to suit your own tastes by simply adding or subtracting Habaneros. You can even go so far as to use an entirely different hot pepper such as a Scotch Bonnet, Jalapeno or Cayenne.  You can even go so far as to add some Mango and impart a little sweetness to the heat. The choice is yours.

So there you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond”

So until next time………..

                                                                         Bon Appetit