Possible recipe rough draft
This is actually an initial rough draft for an idea I/we had tonight, inspired by... well, I need to explain.
Y'see, Kestrelcat is, among other things, a reasonably avid gardener, especially for edible plants and extra-specially for flavorful edible ones. And, in addition to the more usual culinary herbs which can be found in kitchen-gardens the world over, for the last several years, she's been growing chilis of various types, mostly hot ones. At the moment, we've got a really nice kitchen-counter grove which includes Thai peppers, Carolina Reapers, and Bolivian rainbow peppers, along with half-a-dozen spices/herbs, all happily in full production and showing little sign of being ready to shut down for the winter yet.
Well, we were doing some harvesting tonight - the peppers were ready to go and perhaps a little overdue - and we realize we still didn't know what the Bolivians tasted like. Not something either of us had ever had, and not common up here. We knew they were edible, but that was about it. So, I selected a nice-looking pepper from the freshly-harvested bunch we had, trimmed the stem off of it, and halved it with Kestrelcat.
Wow.
Kestrelcat couldn't finish all of her half - it was too hot. (She killed off the remainder of an open sour cream container - it's a decent remedy for a capsaicin overdose.) I wasn't overcome, but then, I'm somewhat insane in that direction.
I do have to admit it was impressive, though. The area around my mouth burned pretty fiercely for somewhere between five and ten minutes, and it took almost half an hour for the heat to die away completely. This was for half of a pepper which, before halving, was about the size of the last joint of my smallest finger - call it about half an inch long and roughly the shape of a Christmas light. (They look a lot like that on the plant, too - they grow through several colors before they ripen.)
Anyway, it inspired me and I tossed together an idea for a salsa. Now, I haven't had time to really do anything with this, so I'm going to have to balance ratios and levels before this is going to be ready to release into the wild, but here's a initial treatment.
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1 can of peaches, preferably in light syrup
Approximately 6 ripe (red) Bolivian rainbow chili peppers
4 jalapeno peppers
1 habenero pepper
Remove the stems from the peppers. (Should need to put this in the recipe, but you never know...)
Puree the rainbow peppers in a blender. After the rainbow peppers are liquefied, or mostly so, add the peaches and blend until smooth.
Rough-chop the jalapeno and habenero peppers (you did remember to remove the stems earlier, didn't you?), and add them to the peach/rainbow pepper mixture in the blender. Pulse the mixture a few times, until the jalapeno and habenero peppers are nicely incorporated into the mixture.
***Here is where I'm going to need to experiment.***
I'm thinking that this will need about a teaspoon of salt, and some level of cumin and/or parsley. Once the flavor is balanced correctly, refrigerate it for a day. Serve in a dipping bowl, garnished with cilantro leaves, alongside the appropriate chips - blue-corn tortilla chips would make a nice visual contrast.
==========================================
I think I might also need to experiment with adding these as a possible Texas-red chili ingredient... y'know, for when the Carolina Reapers are a bit... much. Still, that was very flavorful. Intense, but good.
Y'see, Kestrelcat is, among other things, a reasonably avid gardener, especially for edible plants and extra-specially for flavorful edible ones. And, in addition to the more usual culinary herbs which can be found in kitchen-gardens the world over, for the last several years, she's been growing chilis of various types, mostly hot ones. At the moment, we've got a really nice kitchen-counter grove which includes Thai peppers, Carolina Reapers, and Bolivian rainbow peppers, along with half-a-dozen spices/herbs, all happily in full production and showing little sign of being ready to shut down for the winter yet.
Well, we were doing some harvesting tonight - the peppers were ready to go and perhaps a little overdue - and we realize we still didn't know what the Bolivians tasted like. Not something either of us had ever had, and not common up here. We knew they were edible, but that was about it. So, I selected a nice-looking pepper from the freshly-harvested bunch we had, trimmed the stem off of it, and halved it with Kestrelcat.
Wow.
Kestrelcat couldn't finish all of her half - it was too hot. (She killed off the remainder of an open sour cream container - it's a decent remedy for a capsaicin overdose.) I wasn't overcome, but then, I'm somewhat insane in that direction.
I do have to admit it was impressive, though. The area around my mouth burned pretty fiercely for somewhere between five and ten minutes, and it took almost half an hour for the heat to die away completely. This was for half of a pepper which, before halving, was about the size of the last joint of my smallest finger - call it about half an inch long and roughly the shape of a Christmas light. (They look a lot like that on the plant, too - they grow through several colors before they ripen.)
Anyway, it inspired me and I tossed together an idea for a salsa. Now, I haven't had time to really do anything with this, so I'm going to have to balance ratios and levels before this is going to be ready to release into the wild, but here's a initial treatment.
==========================================
1 can of peaches, preferably in light syrup
Approximately 6 ripe (red) Bolivian rainbow chili peppers
4 jalapeno peppers
1 habenero pepper
Remove the stems from the peppers. (Should need to put this in the recipe, but you never know...)
Puree the rainbow peppers in a blender. After the rainbow peppers are liquefied, or mostly so, add the peaches and blend until smooth.
Rough-chop the jalapeno and habenero peppers (you did remember to remove the stems earlier, didn't you?), and add them to the peach/rainbow pepper mixture in the blender. Pulse the mixture a few times, until the jalapeno and habenero peppers are nicely incorporated into the mixture.
***Here is where I'm going to need to experiment.***
I'm thinking that this will need about a teaspoon of salt, and some level of cumin and/or parsley. Once the flavor is balanced correctly, refrigerate it for a day. Serve in a dipping bowl, garnished with cilantro leaves, alongside the appropriate chips - blue-corn tortilla chips would make a nice visual contrast.
==========================================
I think I might also need to experiment with adding these as a possible Texas-red chili ingredient... y'know, for when the Carolina Reapers are a bit... much. Still, that was very flavorful. Intense, but good.