Habanero Sauce

Habanero Pepper

Vicki and a few other people a while back asked me if I would post my Habanero Sauce recipe, so here it is. First, as a disclaimer, these are HOT. Very, very hot! If you are sensitive, please wear gloves and be very aware of the surfaces they touch. Do not cook this in a cast iron or another reactive plan due to the high acidic content and the fact that the habanero will get into the pan and the heat will remain. The same goes for the cutting board, knife and sponge or rag you use to wipe up. After cutting these, I wash everything and then rub it down with a baking soda paste. I also rub the baking soda into my hands.

OK, onto the recipe:

Habanero Sauce

yield 24-32 oz

7 Habaneros, seeded and stems removed, cut in half

1 large purple onion

1 large red bell pepper

3 small to medium carrots

3 large garlic cloves

about 1 tsp sea salt

about 1/4-1/2 tsp KAL STEVIA or 1/4-1/2 cup sweetner or your chioice

1.5 cups red wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

tbsp or two of vegetable oil

Method:

Cut everything into chunks and saute over medium heat until soft. Add the vinegar and water and bring to a boil for at least 10 minutes. I cover it at this point.

Habanero mixture cooking

When the veggies are soft, add them to the blender. You can either add them hot and be careful by putting a towel over the top of your blender or you can wait until the mixture has cooled. I ususally just add it hot. Blend until totally smooth, then pour into glass containers and let it come to room temperature on the counter.

Finished Sauce

At this point, put the top on and put it in the fridge. I use the plastic mason jar caps. This will keep in the fridge for at least 2 weeks, but I usually make a very large batch and freeze the cooled sauce in ice-cube trays. This is very hot, a tsp or so will be more than enough for most people. I'm weird, so I can eat large amounts of it. If you want a delicious sauce to serve over fries or sweet potato fries add some strawberries to it. YUMO! The ice cube portion is perfect to add to a pound of black beans or rice or other meals. I also like to add one when I make tomato based salsa. This mixed with avocado is out of this world.

I did some big batch cooking yesterday. I didn't take pics at the time, but here's a pic of my fridge full of all the goods. On the top shelf there is mashed potatoes, black bean/tvp/cilantro mixture, steamed broccoli and greens beans tossed with mustard vinagrette, Whole wheat pasta with spinach and crumbled tofu tossed in a sauce made out of coconut milk, garlic, ginger, cilantro, siracha, kafir lime leaf, lime juice and a little bit of sesame oil, bread, soymilk, KOOLAID (my dirty little secret, I make this for my kids , their friends and my husband, but I use KAL STEVIA.) The middle shelf has a sauted spinach, tofu salad and various fruits/tofu and tortillas, the third shelf has okara bacon burger mix, fried rice with seitan and veggies, unprepped/cooked veg and yes, a GALLON of Vegenaise. My local health food sells it that way for 16 bucks and it keeps for 6 months after opening. Then I re-use the container.

Should I feel weird about the fact that I took a picture of my contents of my fridge and posted them on the internet? lol