FOOD BABBLE: Every dish has a face, and other peri-hot insights

Everyone has their strong opinion about what constitutes a good old peri-peri (or piri-piri) sauce, and TGIFood readers are no exception. Here are some of the responses we received to our recent Food Babble hot topic.Rae Earl’s chilli-hot sauceFrom Rae Earl:Your Karoo and Eastern Cape missives go down well with both myself and a life-long retired MD friend of 72 years standing since primary school days. He emigrated to the UK from PE about 20 years ago after having a successful practice there. He used to assist Andy Hillock in numerous surgery operations in PE, so, your news of food adventures in your neck of the woods and the Karoo always go down well with him, nostalgia being a foremost aide-mémoire for an expat SA citizen.Being a hot sauce fanatic, I offer my very simple alternative to a food additive that became prohibitively expensive here before mostly disappearing from local shelves recently. Labelled as “Spillers Peri-Peri” sunflower oil, the last time I was able to purchase it, the price was around R95.50 for a 250ml bottle, ouch!ChatGPT tells me that international retailers sell Spillers for a scary $7.95 to $9.95 per 250ml bottle ie. R135 to R170.I’m finding life bereft of much culinary enjoyment thanks to today’s scarcity and the price of Spillers as both a cooking aid or simply pouring it over a plate of hot and juicy food instead of chutney or tomato sauce, both of which I find are destructive elements of the first order to most food flavours.This oil adds heat without affecting food flavour in any way. Here’s my recipe and the finished product is virtually indistinguishable from Spillers (both in taste and appearance, i.e. hot, light red and crystal clear), at less than half of the cost, and it’s mega simple to make.Ingredients750ml canola or sunflower oil5 x 250g punnets fresh red chillies (1.2kg). The chillies must be firm and fresh, not wrinkled.MethodCut off the stalk ends of the chillies and halve them lengthwise. Do not remove the seeds. I find straight small-sized scissors are easiest and quickest to work with.Place the sliced chillies seed side up in a flat shallow baking pan without overlapping them. Two pans work fine.Place the pans of chillies in full sun and allow to dry to snappable crispness. This may require 8 to 16 hours (usually two days) of full sunlight exposure. Or, a dehydrator works 100%.Heat the oil in a microwave at 100% power until it’s really hot but not smoking. Using 2 x 375ml sterilised glass bottles one at a time in the microwave with lids removed is best.Remove bottles from the microwave and add the dried chillies to the oil equally. Do not remove the seeds ,which are essential for heat. Tighten the lids and store the bottled chillies in any handy cupboard for about 4-6 weeks. Turn bottles every week or so to mix the seeds and distribute heat.Extra fresh oil can be added later if heat reduction is required.Warning: Avoid rubbing your eyes and wash hands thoroughly after slicing the chillies.Cost of finished product:Sunflower oil 750ml: R36.955 punnets chillies @ R19.95: R99.75Total: R136.70 for 750ml peri-peri oil or R45.50 per 250mlGood luck and enjoyment in your newfound health and approaching culinary events and travels.Kind regardsRae EarlFrom Inge Niklaus:Every Dish Needs a FaceComing from a Hungarian family, my father always used to say:“Every dish must have a face.”By that he meant that every savoury dish should have colour, character and warmth. (Only puddings were excused!)His secret was always paprika. South Africans might call it peri-peri for adding a fiery kick, but for my father, it was always Hungarian paprika.Hungarian roasted pepper and paprika sauceIngredients1 large red bell pepperAn equal amount of cherry tomatoesFresh chilli peppers, to your taste1-2 teaspoons honeyA splash of balsamic vinegarA little olive oilHot Hungarian paprika or Erős Pista (Hungarian hot pepper paste), to tasteMethodRoast the red pepper, cherry tomatoes and chillies in a hot oven until the skins are blistered and slightly blackened.Transfer everything to a blender.Add the honey, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.Blend until smooth.Stir in hot Hungarian paprika powder or a spoonful of Erős Pista, depending on how much heat you like.Serve with grilled meat, vegetables, potatoes, pasta or simply spread on fresh bread.As my father would have said: “Now your dish has a face!”Eric’s way with peri-periFrom Eric Carter:Eric’s input is sweet and to the point:Finely chop a medium onionSlice birdseye red chillies at about 2mm intervals (seeds and all)Finely slice 4 or 5 cloves of garlicCover with olive oilImproves after a few days. I get chastised if I don’t bring this to our rugby braais.Send us more of your peri-peri or hot sauce ideas. DM