FoodMayhem

Wandering through the farmer’s market yesterday, Jessica and I were discussing whether or not grapes were in the berry family. The answer is yes. If you didn’t already know Jessica loves berries. Then, as if the universe was calling to us a moment later we found ourselves in front of a beautiful stand of chili peppers (one of MY favorite types of berries). They had a huge selection of Pennsylvania-grown chilis, including some Pequins — yum. We bought five and home we went for me to start cooking.

Pequins are supposedly 7-8 times spicier than jalapenos. However, they seem to be sweeter and are much more flavorful. Interestingly, just yesterday I was discussing with Marcos about how sweeter peppers seem to make the heat much more tolerable. This sauce is perfect for even for a non-pepper-lover.

I was inspired by the sauce at Mexicana Mama Centro and felt I could do a bit better. Whoa did I! Following Jessica’s advice, I tried to keep an accurate recipe this time. Let’s see how I did…

Pequin Pepper Sauce
~makes roughly 1/2 cup

Ingredients

• 5 Pequin Chilis
• 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of great tasting Honey
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 5 Garlic Cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt + extra to season with
• 1/4 teaspoon Mixed Peppercorns (or just black, if that’s what you have)
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper Powder
• 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Fire roast the chilis on a grill. (We usually do it on the burners but these were too small and would fall through.)
   

   As they are roasting, put the vinegar, honey, and onion powder in a blender and spin it once. Let the onion powder dissolve.

2. Mash the garlic, 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, and peppercorns with a morter and pestle. If you don’t have one, you could do this in the blender, but break the pepper first. Add to the blender.
   
3. Toast the cumin and cayenne in a dry pan for 6-8 minutes, until aromatic. Don’t burn. Add to blender.
4. When your chilis are roasted, remove the stem, seeds, and skin, roughly chop them and add to the blender.

1. Run the blender on medium for 1-2 minutes, to thoroughly combine ingredients. Use a spatula (or spoon) to scrape down sides. While running, slowly drizzle first tablespoon oil. Turn off and scrape down sides. Repeat for remaining oil. Taste for flavor, add additional salt as necessary.

Jessica was wowed (which means I got kisses, sweet deal). It tasted damn good. Right off the bat, I made a turkey burger, toasted a bun, and slathered it with the sauce. It was amazing!