African Hot Sauce

You need HOT peppers for this one, if you can get them Red Savina which will give you heat and the flavour of African style sauces. If you can't get Savina then at least Habanero or else it won't be hot enough!

• 12 Chilli Peppers
• 1 small sweet Green Pepper
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 medium Onion
• 2 cans Tomato Paste
• 4 tablespoons Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt

1. Remove stems and seeds from peppers - take the necessary precautions when handling hot peppers.
2. Grind hot peppers, green pepper, garlic, and onion (or use food processor).
3. Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and simmer for an hour or two.
4. Add cayenne pepper if desired.
5. Put into sterilized jars and refrigerate.

Harissa Hot Sauce

Harissa is the flavour of North Africa and in particularly Tunisia. It is characterised by the use of cumin which features a lot in the cuisine of the area. You can mix this with sausage meat or burgers to make a traditional style Mergez dish.

• 1 cup hot dried red chilli peppers (such as Chile de árbol)
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 10 cloves Garlic
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin
• 1/8 cup lemon juice

1. Cover the dried chillies with water in small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit for about an hour.
3. Drain the chillies and place in blender or food processor with the salt and garlic. Purée the mixture and add the lemon juice, a little at a time. If the mixture is too dry, add additional lemon juice as necessary.
4. Pack the sauce into a clean sterilized jar and add just enough olive oil to cover. Screw lid onto jar and shake well, refrigerate. The sauce improves with time, mix well before using.

Piri-Piri Sauce

From Chilliworld

It was probably the Portuguese who introduced the Chilli Pepper as we know it to Europe and the Far East. They were probably also the first to use peppers to create a hot sauce, not hot maybe by today's standards, but nevertheless piri-piri is the Portuguese Original. Look for Cayenne peppers and if you can't get them New Mexico or pequin.

• 4 chilli peppers, cleaned and finely chopped
• juice of one Lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• one tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley, (optional)
• one tablespoon Paprika
• 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt

1. Remove stems and seeds from peppers - take the necessary precautions when handling hot peppers.
2. Grind and mix all ingredients to a fine paste by hand or use a blender or food processor. If you want to go hotter add ground cayenne pepper of pepper flakes to taste.
3. Cook in a hot frying-pan for a few minutes.
4. Store in a sterilized jar in the refrigerator. The flavour will develop over the following week.