Sunday, November 8, 2015

Avanti 2015 Garden Chili Fermented HOT Sauce

Avanti garden chilies:
Pequins in the bowl.  On the plate from left, Aji dulce, fatalii, Australian lantern, tabasco 
The summer of 2015 was a banner year for HOT chili peppers in the Avanti Natural Garden.  What we used to refer to as Veronica’s grandpappy’s Guadalajara chili was identified by a chef bud as the mighty pequin.  If you fancy growing chilies in your garden, make sure to add at least one of these marvels.  They grow to stellar heights, over 6 or 7 feet, produce hundreds of chilies and live for years.  They are a HOT power chili shrub.  The habaneros, cayenne & Tabasco chilies I ordered from Cross Country Nurseries this year all produced w/ abandon.  I fell in love w/ the golden fatalii.  That plant produced at least 40 chilies over the season.  I only order plants indicated ‘prolific’ and some are, and some not so much.  This fatalii delivered big time.

  I have a gigantor 7 foot tall Bangladeshi eggplant that has produced at least 100 flowers, but is completely sterile and 100% fruitless.  But that is a separate story
 
A beautiful specimen plant, but so far it's shooting blanks
As we all know, fermented foods are coming into their own scientifically.  Health-Foodies for Centuries have touted the fermented veg as something to eat daily for optimum health.  Finally Science has caught up w/ instinctive human wisdom.  So, get HOT >> Ferment >> Live Long & Perspire ::]

Avanti 2015 Garden Chili Fermented HOT Sauce


Amount
Measure
Ingredient
Prep Method
8
Ounces
Fresh garden chilies*
Smaller preferable
2
Tablespoons
Sea salt
Avanti pickling salt
2
Cups
Herbal broth**

3
Tablespoons

1
Tablespoon
Miso

2/3
Cup
Champagne vinegar
Or Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3
Cup
Red wine vinegar

6
Cloves
Garlic


Pick through and wash the chilies.  Allow to drain until mostly dry.  
Chilis ready for hot sauce.  Pequins in one batch, a mix in the other
Place all into a sturdy blender and grind until smooth.  Don’t overdo it.  Remember the vinegar, ginger puree & miso are living organisms.  
Ready to grind in the blender jar
Don’t allow the heat of friction to kill the beneficial probiotics.  Let sit in the blender for several hours or over night.  Blend again.  This will tenderize, the chili pulp skins and seeds for a smoother sauce.  Divide into clean glass jars.  Cover w/ a tea towel and allow to ferment at room temperature for 3 to 5 days.  Shake well twice a day.  Refrigerate.
 
Dagger pods in w/ the mix
* A Note On Chilies <::> Smaller chilies are naturally more dense so they will produce a thicker sauce.  If you use larger chilies such as those from the habanero family, add ½ cup or so of hemp or sesame seeds to the blender to thicken the final sauce.  You can add a tablespoon of flax or chia too, but don’t over do those as they make the sauce sticky.  Adding the seeds increases the nutrition, protein and fiber content of the finished sauce.

** A Note On Herbal Broth <::> This is a great place to create the nutritional alchemy you’d like to include in your daily diet.  As you learn about micro nutrients, teas & herbs that respond to the health issues you would personally like to address, add those components to your herbal broth.  I add a mixture of somes of these: Jamaica, rooibos, cinnamon, nopales, reishi, shiitake, maitake, matcha, red pine bark, cacao, turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, coriander, galangal and more.  I peruse the spice rack and choose for flavor, color & health benefits.  Then I add garden herbs such as basil, lemon grass, oregano, mint, lemon balm, pineapple sage, lemon verbena, rosemary, etc. as the whim strikes me. 
 
Australian lanterns, they are smaller and redder than the Aji dulce
This summer I made three variations of this sauce

Variation #1 :: 100% pequin chilies

Variation #2 :: Garden chili mix:  Fatalii, Australian lantern, dagger pod, aji dulce, Tabasco.  I added a ¼ cup hemp seeds to the mix.  It’s a bit thin.

Variation #3 :: 2 parts pequin to 1 part garden chili mix
 
Three variations in jars.  All 3 are HOT Stuff!


Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!
Eat, Live & Party Well
Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County, CA.

Meaning 'forward' in Italian, Avanti Natural is a culinary philosophy that integrates the best of traditional European and Asian healthful eating with the latest nutritional information for optimum health.

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