Melissa Clark’s Hot Sauce
Yield: approximately 2 cups.
2 red bell peppers
4 hot red peppers
5 garlic cloves
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Rough chop peppers. Seed bell peppers. Seeding hot peppers will decrease their heat; this is up to you.
Crush garlic with flat chef knife to peel.
Put all ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to simmer. Cover. Simmer seven minutes.
Puree in blender or food processor. Store in sterilized jar or jars.
Allow to cure three days before eating. It is delicious immediately, but even better if you wait.
Keeps, refrigerated, indefinitely, but won’t last that long.
Notes: If you are sensitive to hot peppers, please use gloves. Avoid touching eyes, contact lenses, mouth, or nose after handling hot peppers. Wash hands with warm, soapy water.
Fumes from vinegar bother some people; open a window or use your oven fan while simmering.
This is wonderful stuff. If spicy isn’t your bag, use sweeter peppers. I suggest making more than one jar. Trust me: it goes amazingly fast. This time around I unwittingly used milder peppers, and the result was lovely. Deep, mellow, husky.
What should you eat this with? Hell, I’d dollop it on breakfast cereal. Eggs. Beans. Hamburgers. Chicken. Rice. Stir into sour cream and dip your chips into it. Spread it on sandwiches. If you can manage it, hoard a little for cold and flu season. When that first nasty chill arrives, spoon some into your chicken soup.
