🇹🇹 Scotch Bonnet PEPPER SAUCE Recipe by Chef Shaun

Pepper Sauce is a staple in Trinbagonian homes. We love spicy flavourful food and having pepper sauce on hand as the perfect flavour enhancer goes a long way to elevating a dish.

Yield – 24 to 32oz

Ingredients:

Whole Red Scotch Bonnet Peppers - 8

Whole Pimento Peppers - 5

Carrot - 1/2 cup (cubed)

Chadon Beni/Culantro - 1/4 cup (chopped)

Garlic Cloves – 1/3 cup (chopped)

Ginger - 1/8 cup (chopped)

Salt - 1 1/2 tbsp

Vinegar - 1/4 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Wash all your ingredients and drain off excess liquid.

2. Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until it has reached your desired consistency.

3. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

4. Feel free to add more water depending on your desired consistency (if you accidentally put too much water, transfer the sauce to a pot and cook until it has thickened to your desired consistency).

Tips/Fun Facts:

1. You can use any hot pepper as well as flavouring pepper of your choice for this recipe.

2. I prefer the red scotch bonnet peppers for two reasons; added heat as the colour tells me it has fully ripened which means it’s at its hottest and the colour gives me an overall better-looking end product as opposed to a greenish-brownish colour you sometimes get with green and or yellow peppers.

3. Same reason I’m using red pimentos. Pimento also adds another level of flavour.

4. I use the entire pepper, seed and all. Most of the flavour and heat are stored in the seeds and the pith (white part on the inside).

5. Carrots add sweetness which helps to balance flavours as well as provide nutrients.

6. It’s not Trinbagonian unless it has chadon beni. Besides being a staple in practically everything we make, this adds tons of flavour. Culantro, cilantro or Coriander would be my substitutes for this ingredient.

7. Garlic will add depth and complexity while helping to balance the sweetness of the carrot.

8. Ginger also adds depth, a bit of spice and earthiness to your sauce.

9. Salt enhances all the flavours of the ingredients and brings the pepper sauce to life.

10. Vinegar adds a bit of acidity and helps with shelf life. You can substitute vinegar with lemon. You’ll just have to reduce the amount by half.

11. Water helps to break down all the other ingredients and achieve your desired consistency.

12. Place in a tightly sealed container and store on your counter or fridge. If storing it on your counter, make sure it does not make contact with direct sunlight as this may lead to spoilage.