Summer is here, or at least the strawberries are. But if the weather isn’t going to help me out a bit I’ve decided on my own course of action to get things hot in here… Strawberry and Basil Hot Sauce.
I first tasted strawberries as an accompaniment to heat in a jalapeño and strawberry jam that I bought last year in Texas. I was amazed that I’d not thought of it before… sweet, delicious and fruity berries paired with a spicy kick. It was love at first bite.
But this year I’m mixing it up a little. Basil and strawberry are a natural flavour combo, and seeing as the former is growing incredibly well on my balcony it means I’ve got enough to get this recipe going.
As with all hot sauce recipes feel free to modify the number of chillies because some people don’t like the heat as much as I do. This will come out medium to hot, so if you want to knock it down a few Scoville then swap in some jalapeño or omit a few chillies altogether.
Ingredients –
500g strawberries (hulled, de-stalked and chopped)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp raw cane sugar (vegan, preferably)
8 good sized basil leaves
2 cayenne chillies (chopped)
Method –
- Put the chopped strawberries into a saucepan over medium heat. As you heat the strawberries they will start breaking down, so keep stirring until you have a lumpy liquid.
- Add the vinegar, sugar, chillies and chopped basil leaves. Keep stirring and slowly bring to the boil.
- Let the mixture boil for about a minute, before removing it from the heat and letting it cool.
- Once cool, blend the mixture in a food processor and when smooth transfer it to a clean container. It’ll keep in the fridge for around 4 weeks (not that it ever lasts that long…).
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