It’s the height of chilli season.
As a result, I’ve been making a lot of shatta.
Yes, yes, I know….
But don’t let the name put you off.
Shatta is a delicious, fermented spicy sauce from the Levant. It’s great with just about anything – meat, fish, eggs and veg - and it’s super easy to make.
The bottle in the photo above is my latest batch. This time, for the first time, I strained it so that it would be easy to chuck a few liquid drops onto anything, but I think that classically its usually unstrained and so more viscous than this.
Anyway, the recipe is below. If you fancy having a crack at it, do let me know how you get on.
I have to say that I think there’s a bit of seasonal magic in all this – Mother Nature giving us back, in liquid form, a little of the heat of the sun that she has, since Wednesday’s autumn equinox, begun to gently withdraw.
All rather beautiful, when you think about it.
Nick
PS – because shatta is a fermented spicy sauce, it’s also probiotic-tastic. Happy days all round!
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To make 1 jar or so – and all these measures are guides only:
- Grab a punnet of chillies (red, green, or a mix).
- Remove the stalks, and then slice ‘em fairly thinly.
- Put the chillies in a jar with about a tablespoon of salt.
- Leave well alone for 3 days, and watch as the salt draws the water out of ‘em.
- Drain the water and blitz ‘em.
- As you blitz, add a good slug of both lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.
- When you’ve got the consistency you want, jar or bottle. Seal with some good olive oil.
- Your shatta should last for a good few months.
- But you’ll have finished it all well before that.
- Because it’s addictive….