Reinventing classics

      I have a knack of inventing recipes which already exist. I’m not sure if this is because I’ve eaten them somewhere before and forgotten or whether I simply am following the same line of reasoning as the original innovators. One of these days I will invent something original, but for now I’ll give you my version of two hot sauces I reinvented.

      The first one was inspired by Carla, a Bolivian friend in Chile, who was telling me about some of the sauces they made back home. It involved some herb which is only grown in the west of Bolivia and you can’t buy anywhere else, but I got the general gist. I went off to the shops and got a pack of rocoto chiles (called locoto in Bolivia). Rocotos are the very hot red chiles which are frequently used in Peruvian food, and give the most almighty kick. You can use habañeros, which are about as hot, but a bit thinner in flavour. Fresh rocotos are best.

1 rocoto, without seeds

1 large tomato (or 2-3 smaller ones), peeled and with the pips and water removed

finely chopped parsley

finely chopped red onion

olive oil

salt

      Put the flesh of the rocoto, the tomato, the olive oil and the salt in a blender and wizz up. Pour the mixture into a small jar and mix in the parsley and onion. You can simply put them in the top of the jar and shake. I try not to touch the inside of the chile with my fingers, but scrape everything out with the knife. Wash your hands well after handling the rocotos and do not try to take your contact lenses out for several hours afterwards. The way to peel tomatoes is to put them in boiling water for a few minutes. Then you prick the skin with a knife and the skin should come off very easily.

      The second one I invented as I wanted to make a green sauce and use tomatillos, which are totally impossible to find in Chile. I may have had something like this in Guatemala a few years ago, but when I was in Florida in September 2009 I finally had the chance to make a sauce with tomatillos, which you can buy easily in all the supermarkets. I wanted to make a green sauce after all the red ones I’d invented with the rocotos. It turns out that it’s a version of the classic Salsa Verde of Mexico.

3 large tomatillos or 5/6 small ones

3 green Serrano or jalapeño chiles

very finely chopped onion

cilantro/coriander

olive oil

large pinch of salt

      Stick the tomatillos and serranos in a blender with the coriander and olive oil and salt. Wizz up and then add the chopped onions. I may have added a clove of garlic to the initial mix. I can’t remember.

These are a great thing to take to a Barbeque if you are invited and you’ll get a reputation as a good cook.