Today we’re snatching some sunshine from the Central American country of Belize. Surely they don’t need all of it?!
Inspired by a brand called Marie Sharp’s, this luscious sauce is sweet with carrot and perfumed with the sun-soaked fragrance of bulbous scotch bonnets. A few dots of this on everything from eggs to hummus, soups and sandwiches is the perfect way to shake up downtrodden January palates. The eponymous Marie Sharp came to the hot sauce industry by happy accident, making her first batch of sauce to use up a surplus of habanero peppers from her garden. While many hot sauces use sweeteners such as mango and papaya, she found the carrot combination a particular hit with her friends and the rest is history. Nowadays, most of the carrots in Belize are destined for Marie’s bottles, with extra supplies shipped in when needed. The sauce is as essential to every table setting as corn tortillas.
I’ve given a recipe below for both smoked and unsmoked versions of the sauce, as I know not all of you are interested in cooking outside at this time of year. If you do fancy it, the smoking time is short: just 10 minutes. Whichever route you take, the result is a pleasantly thick, super-fragrant sauce that will mentally whisk you away to a land of bristling palm trees and lapping turquoise waters… *sigh*.
Other ways to use the sauce:
Want more hot sauce recipes? I hear you. We need all the help we can get!
Smoked Carrot and Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce 500g carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths If you’re making the smoked version of this you’ll need a small amount of coals and a chunk of wood or a handful of wood chips for smoking. Preheat your oven to 200°C (fan). Toss the carrots and whole garlic bulb with 1 tablespoon of oil and roast for 30-35 minutes or until tender. During this time set up your barbecue with a few coals banked to one side and light it. Once the carrots are tender, transfer them to a wire rack and place them on the cool side of the BBQ. Drop your wood or chips onto the coals and close the vents two-thirds of the way, top and bottom. Smoke for 10 minutes, then remove. Combine the carrots in a saucepan with the roasted garlic cloves and all the other ingredients except the lime juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 30 minutes. Blend the sauce with a stick blender, then strain through a sieve. Store in a sterilised jar in the fridge. It will keep happily for a couple of weeks.
SUPERSIZE ME! This week, the fluffiest ricotta pancakes are packed with corn and topped with an easy burnt spring onion butter. Yes pls! Until next time, Flavour Fans x
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Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Flavour nugget #11: carrot and scotch bonnet hot sauce
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