We’ve all been there. You buy a fancy new ingredient, something you haven’t tried before, and have grand plans to experiment. Months pass by and it remains unopened at the back of a kitchen cupboard. Then by the time the ingredient gets a second thought the best before date is fast approaching.
In my case months of neglect turned into a whole year for a bag of habanero chillies. My colleague Ben bought me them alongside range of other dried chillies. Right away I posted a guide to Mexican chillies and during 2017 every mulato, chipolte, ancho and pasilla chilli was turned into a Mexican creation, like my spicy mole sauce. But the habaneros remained untouched.
Habaneros are hot, hot, hot
Perhaps it was the heat factor putting me off the habaneros. In the 1990s the habanero was the world’s hottest chilli in the Guinness Book of World Records (a title that’s today held by ‘The Carolina Reaper’). Habaneros rate 100,0000 to 350,000 on the Scoville scale, a scale that’s used to rate the pungency of chillies . By contrast the mulato rates a mere 2,500 to 3,000.
As with all chillies there’s a benefit that comes with the heat. Chillies could add years to our lives. It’s true. Researchers at the University of Vermont studying almost 17,000 Americans over 6 years found a significant reduction in deaths among those with a fondness for spicy chillies. With this in mind I’m pleased that my habaneros have finally been put to good use – in this habanero tomato salsa.
Habanero Tomato Salsa
My ‘thank you for saving my habaneros’ goes to Vero from With Colours and Canito in the Kitchen – a lovely blog I follow that features heaps of traditional Mexican recipes. Vero recently shared a recipe for habanero salsa from another Mexican food blogger called Mely at Mexico in my Kitchen.
Here I’m spreading the recipe further – Mely’s Habanero Tomato Salsa is really simple to make, both in terms of the ingredients and the method. Apart from replacing the vegetable oil with coconut oil I followed Mely’s exact recipe. The result is a fiery sauce that you really don’t need more than a teaspoon or so of to spice up a meal.
Of course if you don’t have habeneros to hand, or they’re just too hot for you to handle then try this recipe with any type of dried chilli…..
Laura
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I’ve never seen dried habaneros before – so interesting! We love everything spicy here. My husband uses ghost pepper salsa a lot. I mix it with a less spicy jarred salsa because I want to taste my food, not burn my taste buds! I guess you could always mix up the chile peppers as well with this salsa. Thanks!
Hi Chef Mimi – I was surprised as I expected the habaneros to burn my tastebuds too – but although they have a kick it’s less eye watering and more fiery….but then I have only tasted this salsa in very small doses! Thanks for stopping by.
Laura! Such a beautiful post. Thank you for mentioning me! 🙂 ❤ I have just checked you mole sauce as well and will surprise my husband with it! He loves it! Thank you again ❤
Glad you like it Vero and yes the mole sauce is a winner too – very versatile to all kinds of veggies and beans/legumes!
I so much agree with you! I have to admit I have never tried it before. So hopefully, it’s not going to turn that bad 🙈☺️
I am SUCH a wuss, there is no way I could attempt anything haberno 😉 Having said that, your photo made my mouth water so maybe I will just have to be brave…
Go for it Hungry Mum – I think tolerance for chilli grows with practice!
I just checked out the recipe and I love that it’s a super easy way to add a bit of heat to your meal… will be on the lookout for these peppers.
Thanks Annika – I’ve never seen habaneros in conventional spice stores but maybe not many of them make their way to Australia!
I’ll try our specialty stores if not at the neighbourhood store, almost everything is available here, you just need to find it!
That’s good to hear Annika – let me know how you go!
We love the heat over here! Will definitely check out these peppers, thank you!
Thank you and thanks for following Feast Wisely!
You are calling my name with this and omg, I am going to live forever!!
Hilarious Mollie – if only chillies were the secret to eternal youth!
🙂
Interesting chilli, let me try my luck whether I can source them or not !
Wow! You’re very brave! I’ve never had hananeros and I’m pretty sure I never will – I am a wimp when it comes to that heat index!! But kudos for trying such a spicy sauce! 😊😊
Thank you Linda – and I’m not really so chilli adventurous usually but I simply had to use the big bag of habaneros. And the more I’ve had small amounts of the sauce over the last few weeks the more I’m warming (or should I say burning!) to it….
I love a good salsa and this sounds delicious! I like a bit of heat but back off when it reaches pain levels, usually this involves chillies around the 600,000 scoville mark but Habaneros and Scotch Bonnets really gets me sometimes.
I use Carolina reapers in my hottest hot sauce and have to confess it is not for me! 🙂
Wow Petra – I’m impressed that you have dabbled with the Carolina Reapers! I think they would take me over the heat edge…..my body’s way of saying to me ‘too hot’ is usually watering eyes and a runny nose – which hasn’t happened yet with this sauce…
Hi Laura
I have to say the Carolina Reaper smells hot, all I have to do is cut it in half and it has a very sharp smell of hot! Too hot for me ha ha
I do have the Reaper sauce sometimes but have t use very little at the time but have customers who seems to eat quite a lot on a regular basis! 🙂