Harvest Season Hot Sauce with Lemon Grass, Cucumbers, and Lantern Peppers
Did you know that while we think of September and October as sweater weather, it’s also when the bounty of summer produce is ripe and ready in NYC.
This recipe was inspired by my cooking buddy, the creative pepper genius David Zheutlin, who is co-founder and sauce master at Trop Flavor Co, as well as a middle school history teacher and compost slinger at The Brooklyn Youth Sports Club garden in New Lots.
This recipe calls for cucumbers, hot peppers (we’re using lantern, but habanero or scotch bonnet works too), lemongrass and ginger.
It also calls for sake and rice vinegar. Oh, baby. Tasty stuff. If you don’t imbibe, you can leave out the booze.
If you’re in NYC, a great place to get cool peppers is the Union Square Greenmarket. Out of season and for tropical fruits my favorite is Calderon Produce Market in Bushwick.
WARNING: always use latex gloves when handling hot peppers and hot sauce. These babies can BURN your skin!!
This recipe makes about 3x 5-oz bottles of hot sauce. You can use old alcohol bottles or jam jars too.
INGREDIENTS
8 Lantern, scotch bonnet, habanero hot peppers
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk of lemongrass
1 1-inch peice of fresh ginger
3/4 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1 limes worth)
1 ounce sake
1 tablespoon salt
DIRECTIONS
Turn the oven on to a high broil, and on a sheet tray, lay out the first 2 ingredients: onion and peppers.
Broil for about 10 minutes or until they’re all slightly blistered and soft, and peppers are bursting and juicy, turning halfway through.
Transfer contents to a blender and add the rest of the ingredients: cucumber, ginger, lemongrass, lime juice, sake, vinegar, water, salt, and pulse until desired texture is reached.
Fill bottles or jars with a funnel and cap.
Refrigerate when cool.
It will last in your fridge for at least 6-months.