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Yield = 2 – 4 cups

the ingredients, ready to be simmered

At the end of a good growing season, my friend Janie (aka the chile goddess), sends me a box of fresh chilies, usually the really small ones. I developed this sauce to take advantage of these super hot chilies, but wanted it to have some depth of flavor too. I modeled this on Chris Schlesinger’s Inner Beauty Sauce, which is modeled on the classic West Indian scotch bonnet sauce using fruit and mustard to balance the habaneros. I also throw in  chipotles, which add a smoky dimension.

This is a flavorful and thick sauce. You can control the heat level, by removing some or all of the seeds before cooking. Remove all the seeds for a mild sauce. If you need a supply of heirloom chiles, visit my friend Janie’s  website,  chileplants.com

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. mixed hot peppers, any variety
6 each dried chipotle peppers, (optional – for a smoky flavor)
2 cups cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 over ripe bananas
1 cup ripe papaya, cubed
1 T mustard seeds
12 each whole cloves
2 cinnamon stick, broken
4 bay leaves, broken
8 whole allspice berries
2 Tfresh ginger, minced
2 T sugar
1 T kosher salt

Method:

Wash and drain peppers, split and seed, if desired.
Rough chop the peppers into appx. 1″ chunks, you should have about 8 cups.
Put them in a large sauce pot with the cipoltle, banana, vinegar, garlic and spices.
Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.
Continue simmering, covered over medium heat until very soft, stirring occasionally about 45 minutes.

Press the mixture through a sieve, or ideally use a Foley Food Mill.
Discard seeds, pulp and spices. This sauce is fairly thick, about the consistency of ketchup.

Store and seal sauce into canning jars while boiling hot.
The flavor and heat will develop over time.