African

Oliver’s Ancho

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Happy tuesday again, everyone! It’s been a few weeks now since my birthday, so it’s about time we tried one of my more chilli-themed presents. Something that’s maybe a tad more mass market than I’m used to but still sounds rather exciting:

This is Jamie Oliver’s Ancho & Cumin Chilli Sauce and, while its celebrity nametag doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence, putting the pepper front and centre definitely does. Especially when it’s such a mild and flavourful variety as the mexican ancho.

Anchos aren’t nearly as well known as jalapeños, habaneros or chipotle, either. So this doesn’t just imply a specific heat but also some real knowledge of mexico’s chilli-based cuisine. Some genuine appreciation for what the region’s peppers can bring to a product, beyond their fire.

I’m genuinely excited for this sauce, despite its more mundane origins.

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Dalston Double

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Hello again, everyone. Today, we’re looking at a sauce that’s been gaining a lot of traction, lately, but that I still hadn’t heard hide nor hair about until it arrived on my doorstep. A gift from my aunt, in london, to whom this week’s product is quite local.

This is Common Sanity’s Dalston Sunshine – The name of the sauce telling you exactly what borough its company are based in and their own hinting at an interest in mental health. With a portion of the company’s profits going to charity for that very reason.

Yet the common “Common Sanity” name, as a whole, is apparently a play on commensality, the act of communal eating. Not anything to do with the word “Common”. Which is just as well because, as much as it may look like a common caribbean mustard sauce, their Dalston Sunshine’s main ingredient is actually the fatalii chilli. An african relative of the habanero which, despite growing popularity in recent years, is still far from “common”.

And it’s not today’s only unexpected fusion flavour, either, since my little care package also contained a second item from the company:

Not a sauce, this time, but a chinese or filipino-style crispy oil. Filled with mexican chillies, seeds and nuts for a beautifully rich sounding, yet equally unorthodox blend that they call Fuego Greeze.

I’m very eager to try them both out.

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Chilli Project Padrons

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Hey folks, I believe I promised to show you all the first of my sponsored recipes this weekend. So, to get things started, I’m going to take a look at what can be done with The Chilli Project‘s 💰Fatalii Chilli Salt💰.

A delightfully citrus-tinged, mellow and peppery, yellow chilli product which really brings out the freshness of my fried padrons.

And sure, I’ve talked about this appetiser in the past but never quite like this. Not with today’s blend of african chilli salt and earthy, indian spices, pushing the peppers’ own nuttiness to the next level, while also bringing forth subtle fruity hints which I never knew were there before.

If you like padrons, you’ll love this brand new take on them and, while they might not be in season right now, the middle of january is when I most often see them in stores. So there’s no easier time to give this dish a go!

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Harissa from Harry

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Hey folks, last week we saw a sauce which prided itself on its peri peri bird’s eye chillies. So, today, I thought I’d keep that african theme going, with a recommendation from my aunt.

This is Harry Brand and they make harissa. A north african style of chilli paste – Sometimes referred to as a sauce – that I’ve featured once before, yet actually had many, many times, off record.

I’m a massive fan of the style. However, that pure harissa isn’t our main event, this time around. It is merely the base for today’s real recommendation: The more unique-sounding mayonnaise that they make from it.

And, well, I’m excited. I love the rich, red, spiced chilli flavours of a good harissa and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they blend with the creamy, egg-based emulsion that is mayo.

Assuming, of course, that this is a good harissa. I still have both to try, so let’s get started.

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Chilli with a Cause

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Hello again, everyone. For this week’s review, I have another collaborative product on my hands, courtesy of Brighton Hot Stuff. A second free sample that they’ve sent me, made in conjunction with another organisation.

Unlike their Cauldron, however, this bird’s eye sauce is entirely their own creation. They aren’t working with another producer and they’re not using someone else’s fermented base but they are still making a big deal out of who supplies the product’s namesake peppers.

Because those peppers aren’t your average, supermarket sort. They’re a native african bird’s eye strain, grown in uganda by a charity called “Chilli Children”.

This sauce has been made, in conjunction with that charity, to highlight both their cause and the fierce heat and flavour of the peppers which they export. And it gives back two pounds fifty to them, with every bottle.

So let’s see what it – And they – are about, shall we?

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Harissa – Hot & Hotter

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Happy tuesday again, everyone. Today, we’re going to be carrying on our african theme, from the weekend’s jollof recipe, but we’re going to be moving up north for a more tunisian treat.

HarissaPair

In this week’s review post, I’m going to be taking a crack at some artisan harissa, from Burning Desire Foods and Carringtons, to see how it compares to the simpler, more traditional sort that I once stuffed peppers with.

It’s quite easy to tell which is going to be closer, though. The free sample that I got from Burning Desire uses the same blend of red bell peppers and serenades that I’ve used in my own harissa attempts, while Carringtons does away with anything so mild, in favour of a ghost, scorpion and reaper mix.

It’s pretty obvious that they’re going for heat over tradition but how will that same mellow pepper mix that we saw in 📽️ Mad Dog’s Gold Edition 📽️ impact the flavour of a harissa paste?

I can’t quite picture it but I’m certainly excited. For both of today’s products, since Burning Desire Foods have a long history of quality that we’ve seen many times on this site.

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Party Rice

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Hey folks, it’s the last weekend of the month and it’s time to party. By which I mean it’s time to replicate a dish that I discovered at an afro-caribbean birthday barbecue.

That’s right, if you couldn’t tell from the title, this week’s recipe is the mildly smoked “party rice” version of west africa’s traditional “jollof”. A heavily spiced rice dish made for sharing, that can be the side for your main meal but, more often, acts as the ballast alongside a tonne of fried plantain, jerk chicken and coleslaw. To name just a few of its common accompaniments.

It can be served warm or cold at just about any time of the day and, while not exactly hot, it carries a wonderful tomato, thyme and scotch bonnet taste that makes it all but impossible to mistake its native region.

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The Mad Titan’s Molé

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Hey folks, do you recognise this fruit?

HornedMelon

If you’re a Marvel fan, you should, ’cause this is the only thing growing in Thanos’ garden. And, while it doesn’t come from an alien cactus, the inside of the real kiwano looks more extraterrestrial than anything in Endgame:

HornedInnards

It’s a freaky-looking fruit and its taste is just as weird – A blend of cantaloupe, cucumber and lime – but it’s right at home with herbs and citrus. It’s more vegetable than fruit but a friend to fresh flavours all the same.

In today’s celebration of superhero movies and obscure, african fruit, I’m not going to be replicating the mad titan’s horned melon soup. That dish is as much of an affront to the world as his use of the infinity stones. A thick, snotty, disgusting mess of a meal, about which horror stories have trickled down through my family for generations.

You do not cook the kiwano.

This fruit or vegetable, whichever you choose to call it, is best served fresh or frozen. It’s typically recommended for use in mousses, smoothies, sorbets and citrus-heavy cocktails but, for today’s recipe, I’m going guac.

Mexico’s famous, creamy dip/condiment hybrid that brings together all things fresh and green.

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African Green

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Well, that’s two weeks of red sauces in a row. I think today might be the time to mix things up a bit with an older item. A review of something green that I tried some time ago, tweaked to match my modern standards.

It’s a green sauce with a difference, though. A coriander, lime and scotch bonnet one from Wiga Wagaa:

2017-01-20 11.50.15

A company who dedicate themselves to getting full on, african-style flavour into their assorted chilli products.

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Peri Peri Paneer Wrap

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Guess what, everyone?

It’s another surprise recipe sunday and, this time, I’m working with one of Mahi’s samples for a simple, tasty, lunchtime wrap. Like the one I mentioned back in my review of their Peri Peri Marinade.

It’s a dish with a tiny bit of indian flare from its paneer cheese filling but also the crispness of fresh veg paired with a the smooth chilli taste that very product. Not that you couldn’t go a little bolder and more traditional with their tika if you really wanted.

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