Mango Habanero Hot Sauce, Wowza!

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Our Growing Paynes

I had seen, over the past couple of years, a mango hot sauce on cooking competitions. I put it on the list in the back of my mind of things to try. This year we were able to grow habaneros in our garden so it was time to try my hand at it.

The tricky bit is being able to taste test it as it is made so the flavours were balanced. Habaneros are not mild! I enlisted my husband in the tasting department.

I did a bit of research and was surprised to find, without fail, carrots were an ingredient. To me carrots taste more earthy than sweet but I thought it was worth a try.

In a sauce pan add 1-2 medium carrots, sliced thinly, half of a small onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic. Cover with water and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, slice up 3 mangoes and 6 habaneros.

Add these to a blender and then scoop in the carrot mixture. I ended up using about a cup of the carrot mixture.

Add a tablespoon or two of lime juice and the same amount of apple cider vinegar. Blend completely. If it comes out too thick add water until you get the consistency you need.

I made about 5 cups so I canned them using normal canning processing. Process them for about 5 minutes. This is hot enough for my husband. It’s quite something! I look forward to adding it to recipes.

Taking Risotto South of the Border

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Our Growing Paynes

You know when you get a flash of inspiration and get excited, tell someone, and their response is “Erm, ok”? That was my husband and me last night! He had asked for risotto but I wasn’t in the mood for the usual one we do. After debating in my head what to do I decided on doing a chilli sort of risotto. I think that bit is what my husband wasn’t excited about as it brought to mind beans and the like. I reassured him that I was thinking of the flavours instead of a full on chilli.

This is an easy dish to prep ahead of time if you are rushing about. Our daughter tried out for the football team (soccer) at school and she did well enough to get on the A team. Which considering she hasn’t played since she was about 5 was an excellent effort. So we now deal with the practices and games, including a practice last night. Hence the prep in advance. First game this afternoon!

In a saucepan bring to a boil homemade chicken stock. You will need 4-5 cups depending on how much aborio rice you use. In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter then add a small chopped onion to saute. Once the onions have softened add 3 chopped cloves of garlic and saute for a couple of minutes more. Then add 1-1 1/2 cups of aborio rice to the skillet and stir well. Add a few splashes of lime juice and chipotle tabasco sauce.

Add a cup of stock and stir well. Gradually add the stock, letting the aborio absorb the liquid.

As the risotto cooks begin to add the seasoning. I added ground cumin, chilli powder, ground cayenne pepper, and dried oregano. When the risotto is halfway cooked add half a cup of frozen corn and a few sliced mushrooms.

After a few minutes add a chopped bell pepper and a sliced jalapeno. Keep adding the stock. When it is almost cooked add 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and some chopped tomatoes. Stir well and adjust the seasoning and the lime as needed. Add a few chopped teaspoons of fresh cilantro and serve.

Grate some more parmesan cheese over the top and add a dollop of sour cream on top. My husband and the kids really enjoyed this twist on risotto. I loved the heat in this dish. Of course, if you want the spice to knock your socks off add more hot pepper!

Kicking Ketchup

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Our Growing Paynes

When I was little I was told the corniest joke but it cracked me up and I still remember it. A mama tomato and a baby tomato were walking along but baby tomato kept lagging behind. So mama tomato stomped on baby tomato and yelled “Ketchup!” Told you it was corny. 🙂

It was high time I tried making my own ketchup. Given that we are currently being overwhelmed with fresh tomatoes we had enough to make some. With the experiment using the Epsom salt for the tomatoes this year I have some results. We have a crazy amount of tomatoes this year and very little cracking which has been an issue in the previous years. On the flip side the fruit are ripening in a weird way. Not sure if it’s because the season is cooler than normal. They fall off before they are ripe and then they are going off a lot faster so we are struggling to keep up with it. I will try this again next year to see what is what.

I did a bit of research on ketchup recipes and figured I could come up with my own recipe without too much trouble. I estimate we had about 6-7 pounds of tomatoes which we chopped and added it to a large pot.

In addition chop 1 large red onion, 1 medium white onion, a jalapeno, 2 Ring O Fire peppers, and 2 cloves of garlic.

Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, 2-3 tsps of sea salt, 1-2 tsps of pepper, and a handful of celery leaves. Bring to a simmer stirring well.

Simmer until the sauce reduces by about a third.

Let it cool and then use a hand blender to process the ingredients. Press the sauce through a sieve to remove the remaining solids into a clean pot.

Bring back up to a simmer. Add a cup of red wine vinegar and 3/4 cup of brown sugar. Simmer until the ketchup is reduce by another 1/3 and is the consistency you want. I like it on the thicker side so it reduced a bit more than a 1/3. If you want it thicker add a bit more brown sugar.

Can in sterilised jars and process for 10 minutes.

I am really pleased how this came out. Certainly makes me want to whip up some burgers and fries! Maybe some onion rings. 🙂 This has a lovely heat finish to it.

Ooh, as I write this I got a little trophy thing saying it’s my two year anniversary! Woot! 🙂

Our Growing Paynes

A journey about cooking, traveling, gardening, and crafting.

Tag Archives: spicy

Mango Habanero Hot Sauce, Wowza!

Taking Risotto South of the Border

Kicking Ketchup