Culinary Guides

This is a bright, fiery hot sauce built on roasted habaneros and plenty of garlic, mellowed with sweet carrot and onion so the heat has something to ride on. Roasting the peppers first rounds out their fruit and takes the raw edge off. A little goes a long way on tacos, eggs, and grilled meat.

Ingredients

• 10 habanero peppers, seeded and halved
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 cup carrot (120 g), chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups water (240 mL)
• 1/4 cup lime juice (60 mL)
• 1/4 cup white vinegar (60 mL)

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 425F (220C) and line a baking sheet with parchment. Spread the halved habaneros and smashed garlic on it, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and toss to coat with tongs. Keep the peppers off your bare hands.
2. Roast about 10 minutes, until the edges of the peppers begin to brown.
3. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over high heat and cook the carrot, onion, and salt about 4 minutes, until tender and glossy.
4. Add the water, lime juice, vinegar, and the roasted peppers and garlic. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer about 10 minutes.
5. Cool slightly, then blend on high until completely smooth, working in batches if needed.
6. Funnel into a clean bottle or jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. The flavor deepens after a day or two.

For a milder sauce, use fewer habaneros or blend in a mild bell pepper. Sterilize the bottles in boiling water for 10 minutes first if you want the sauce to keep longer.

Grower's tip: habaneros are slow to get going but wildly productive once they do, and a single plant can hand you dozens of pods. Let them ripen to full orange or red on the plant for the deepest heat and fruitiest flavor, and pull on gloves the moment you start cutting.

A hot sauce habit is cheap to grow. Raise a couple of habanero plants for a season of pods, and keep carrots and onions in the ground to round out the heat.