If you missed last week's in-depth post, here is the short, short version: I used the ghost pepper to make salsa, and I also ate a tiny sliver of the chilli itself. One of these things turned out lovely. The other one was an error. I'll leave you to ponder which one.
But since there aren't that many recipes out there for fresh Ghost Pepper salsa, (most Bhut Jolokia salsa recipes call for dried peppers) I thought I would contribute to the public discourse and post my recipe here.
Before we begin, I have to tell you right away that there aren't any pictures. I know, I'm sorry. But come on, it's not like I'm the Pioneer Woman or anything (though a man can dream...) Also, it's in metric, which I do realize in Texas is punishable by up to three years in prison. But I live in Europe, OK? The only time I see pounds, they have the Queen's face on them.
Adam's Ghost Pepper Salsa Recipe
- 500 grams of peeled tomatoes – coarsely chopped
- 4-6 cloves of garlic – minced
- 2 medium yellow onions – chopped
- 50 grams fresh cilantro – separated from the stems
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- Juice from 1 large lime
- Salt and pepper
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 Ghost Pepper – super-duper finely minced
Chop up the peeled tomatoes. If you live in a country that actually sells peeled, cut tomatoes, you are one lucky bastard. Since they don't here, and I had actually bought some lovely farmer's market tomatoes that morning, I went with fresh tomatoes and peeled them myself. I used the oven method to peel them, which also imparted a bit of a smoky flavor, which I like.
Mince the garlic. I used 6 cloves of garlic because my girlfriend and I love garlic. If you don't love garlic, you can use less, but we can never be friends. Chop up the onions and tear off the cilantro leaves.
Now it's time to prepare the bhut jolokia. First things first: PUT ON GLOVES!!! If you handle it with your bare hands, it will burn your hands. And then you will go to the bathroom and if you are stupid, you will burn something else. To reiterate – do not touch this chilli, or anything that the chilli comes in contact with, until it has been suitably washed.
Mince the ghost pepper super finely. The last thing you want is to have big chunks of this thing accidentally floating around the salsa, burning people's faces off - Raider's of the Lost Ark style.
Now heat up the vegetable oil in a normal-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and let them sweat for about five minutes. Drop the heat down to medium, and add the tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and ghost pepper. Stir and cook these together for an additional 5-8 minutes or so, until the tomatoes start to break down.
Add the cumin, coriander, lime juice, and some salt and pepper. The amount of salt and pepper is based on your relationships with those spices, but I went with about a teaspoon of salt and a ½ teaspoon of pepper.
Cook and stir the mixture for a couple more minutes, and then remove it from heat and let it cool a bit.
Once cool-ish, pour the entire mixture into a blender. Blend fairly thoroughly, as this salsa is far better smooth than excessively chunky (remember, you actually DO NOT want big chunks of chilli in this thing). Once blended, you can either put it away, or put it back in the saucepan and let it simmer for a few minutes to let it reduce and cook off some of the excess water.
But I wanted it as soon as possible, so I put it in a bowl, covered it, and put in the fridge. Make sure it chills for at least 2 hours before serving. In fact, if you can resist for that long, 8 hours or more is the perfect amount of time.
The taste of the bhut jolokia salsa will vary depending on the chilli itself. Mine had a delightfully smoky, melon flavor, along with a huge kick of spice.
I found it to be delicious, and I've already been asked when I'm going to make it again. Hopefully you have as much luck with it as I did.