The ChileFoundry

Quay Ingredients – Chermoula

Hot Juan — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:23:21 +0000

Here is a new spice mix, we have not seen before Chermoula, it comes from Moroccan cuisine but there are also version in both Tunisian and Algerian cooking, it is a marinade traditionally used with fish, but also works well with chicken and grill meats

QUAY ingredients - Chermoula

Quay Ingredients is a small family run business, it was started in 2000, you will find their products exclusively in the independent deli’s and farm shops.

This version of Chermoula is a dry spice mix that you can sprinkle on to heat and fish before grilling, it smells strongly of the coriander, and I don’t recommend getting any up your nose, I think I have sneased quite enough for one day. The mixture is a fine powder in which you can see small flecks of the parsley.

Ingredients: Paprika, Cumin, Coriander, Parsley, Chilli, Turmeric, Garlic.

Packet kindly provided by QUAY ingredients

On the back of the packet they recommend you stir it into some olive oil, add a dash of lemon juice, this tasted so good we tried it just spread on some hot buttered toast, it makes a very aromatic and tasty snack, for the chef…

I then used what was left on some chicken, pasted a nice thick layer on to a skinless chicken breast (I do miss skin on chicken breasts) and left it for an hour in the fridge to marinate before grilling it, this type of mix is great in the grill with non of that nasty sugar to burn you can cook the meat properly without burning ( Another pet rant about these quick sugar based marinates, a marinate is supposed to take some time to work, else it is a coating!!).

The taste is great, bit of warmth from the chillies and paprika, a real taste of Morocco and very simple to prepare. At just £2.00 for a 75g packet you should get a few interesting dishes before you need to buy another packet, we liked the minimalist but still sturdy packaging.

You can order on-line at www.quayingredients.co.uk or if you local deli does not stock it tell them to phone Ian Southworth on 01729 840740, I am sure he will be happy to talk to them.

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Restaurant Review – Wahaca – White City

Hot Juan — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:49:44 +0000

wahaca

Wahaca is a smallish restaurant chain at the moment 6 sites around London plus a street kitchen, it was started by Thomasina Miers and her Husband, I hope you will all remember Thomasina as she won the BBC cookery competition Masterchef in 2005 (Which I think was the only time I watched a complete series).

We decided to start do early as we has two children with us, who had been on the go all day, so just after 6 we arrived, the place was not full but was still busy, after a few moment we where show to our table and our waitress explained the options and then while we decided she brought us some nibbles.

Yummie

We has the Fresh Tomato salsa, Guacamole, which my wife raved about, she is a but of an expert on eating Guacamole if left unwatched, and Frijoles which is a dip made with twice cooked black beans that has to be tried to be believed, it is served with a topping of finely grated cheese, all of these came with tortilla chips.

On the table we has a couple of Chilli Sauces which we have now got in our schedule for review, so more about them later.

We decided we would try all the street foods, it recommend we order 2-3 dishes each, so we has the lot:-

Tacos – Soft corn tortilla with:-

Port Pibil – Slow cooked pork with a Yucatecan marinade
Chicken Mole – Chicken in a Poblano Mole Sauce
Grilled British Steak – Steak with a Chipltle Salsa
Winter Veg – Veg with Mushrooms, Savoy Cabbage and Borlotti beans with a Pasilla Salsa

Tostadas – Crips tortilla with:-

MSC Herring – Smoke Herrings with Tomato Salsa and Lime Juice
Chicken Guajillo – Chicken , Lettuce, Guacamolewith Smokey Guajilli Oil
Black Bean – Refried beans, with Avacado Salsa, Cheese and Tomato Salsa

Taquitos- Corn tortillas wrapped around:-

Marinated Chicken – Lettuce, Cheese and Tomato Salsa
Savoy and Pasilla – Savoy Cabbage, Mushrooms, Pasilla Salsa with Lettuce, Feta and Chipotle Salsa.

Quesadillas – Large toasted tortillas folded over a filling of:-

Black Beans & Cheese
Chorizo & Potato
Chipotle Chicken
Huitlacoche – Mushrooms, corn, and melted cheese

There is no special children’s menu, but our waitress arranged some dishes to come without any spicy accompaniments, but most of the food was not overly spicy and while our five year old (Mary) did not eat a lot she liked the tortilla chips and Antony (11) loved it all

Taste my Churros Y Chocolate at your own risk!

And then there was the puddings, but after so much we almost passed on this, but the “Churros Y Chocolate” was so tempting we order 3, two with Chocolate and one with Caramel sauce. As you can see Antony was very taken with these.

With drinks for 4 adults and 2 children the bill came to about £150, but we did not so short measures on anything and the street food ranged from £3.50 to £4.50 per plate.

This restaurant is not for the intimate romantic meal the place is noisy with little in the way of soft furnishing to deaden the sounds, if you closed you eyes you could be in a noisy street market. I understand that each of the other in the chain has it own individual ambience.

On the way out (and in) there was a large bowl full of what looked like match books, but turned out to be promotional packs of seedsticks make by a company called Sow Easy , each contains 5 seedsticks with Serrano chilli seeds ready to plant and grown your own Mexican experience.

Over the weekend we visited a number of restaurants, some that included a service charge in the bill, but provided very little service, wahaca was not one of these we had a great time and we would like to thank Ed Rebelo and all the staff at wahaca for a great meal, we will be back to try more very soon.

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Monthly Newsletter – UK Chilli News, Review and Events

Hot Juan — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:22:21 +0000

Why not keep up to date – sign up for our monthly newsletter?

Subscribe now and we will send a once a month newsletter with details of all the latest:-

Stories - Who is doing what and when.
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For chilli news the UK and beyond.

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The Bath Pig – Spicy Chorizo

Darth Naga — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:33:06 +0000

The Bath Pig - British Pork Chorizo

Good morning chilli padawanz!! Today we have one of those rare occasions where I am asked to try a chilli meat product and give my opinion on said product, normally I’d hand this off to another reviewer due to me being pescetarian and usually only eating fish, but in the case of this particular product I have heard so many rave reviews about them that I had to try it myself first hand!

The Bath Pig Spicy Chorizo

The product I’m reviewing comes all the way from a company in bath that i have seen at various chilli shows but due to my dietary choices have never really shown much interest in their products…UNTIL NOW! I had spoken to “Becky Hamblin” on facebook who told me all about the company she works for called “The Bath Pig”, it was formed a few years ago by Matthew Chiles and Tim French. The two gentleman in question formed the company out of a mutual passion for food, and decided they wanted to produce a chorizo (and many other future products) from free range british pork! You can read more about their history. Right lets get down to the nitty gritty shall we?

Ingredients: British Pork (70% lean shoulder and 30% belly), Salt, Spices (Smoked Spanish Paprika, Cayenne, Clack Pepper, Ginger), Paprika Extract, Garlic and Herbs (Oregano, Rosemary).

Review sample supplied by Becky Hamblin over at www.thebathpig.com

Well where does one begin with such an interesting product to review? Before we go on I must point out to anyone worried that this review won’t be accurate due to the fact I usually only eat fish, i have been a pescetarian for only 5 years and I am also a qualified chef, so I know good quality meats and foods! Looking at the package I have to say that the chorizo itself is presented inside a nice bright red bag adorned with both the name of the company and the type of chorizo in clear and easy to read text, there are several little symbols pointing out that the product is 100% pork and is also only made using RSPCA approved “Freedom food” which basically means happy, free range piggies, therefore tastier meat! (it gets a massive thumbs up for being as animal friendly as a chorizo company can be!) There is a window on the front, through which i can see the lovely chorizo stick itself, very nice and red, with slightly lighter red pieces inside it, the back is plastered with lots of info, a little history and of course the obligaroty ingredients list, time to tear this open and have a taste!!

Upon opening, a slightly smoky, almost chipotle smell eminates from the bag and as i reach in and take out the chorizo a nice peppery, spicy smell comes too. The chorizo itself is quite weighty, and upon cutting a little off I notice its quite moist, which worries me a little as chorizo I have had in the past has always been a bit dryer, but a quick look at the pack assures me that if you prefer it drier you can just open the pack and leave it for awhile to cure even more! As I place the piece I cut off in my mouth and chew it up, an amazing taste fills my mouth, like a top of the line pork sausage seasoned with the finest herbs and spices, a tiny kick from the cayenne at the end to give this a “spicy” finish, but not a hot one, if that makes sense?

This is most definitely a product that gives traditional spanish chorizo a run for its money, and looking at the fact that these are only £3.25 each (130G) from www.thebathpig.com I would think that the price beats the traditional stuff too.. I’m all for tradition, but when british made chorizo can taste THIS good, I’m more than happy to drop tradition and get with the times! I spread a little dijon mustard on a couple of slices so I know that works beautifully, I must admit, about the only thing that lets this down is the heat level.. if Matt and Tim could come up with a habanero based chorizo that had a nice punch of heat, I reckon they’d be able to satisfy a large amount of the chilli community! I can see this chorizo being used in a wide variety of dishes, from paella to salads and sliced thinly on sandwiches and pizza’s, this particular product is extremely moreish and if I were to ever go back to eating meat full time, this would be in my cupboard on a regular basis!!

Right, until next time my chilli padawanz, may the sauce be with you, always!!

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Nando’s Garlic Peri Peri Sauce

LazyLizzi — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:08:34 +0000

Nando's Garlic Peri Peri Sauce

Everyone has heard of Nando’s yes? If you haven’t then you really are missing out! Nando’s is a chicken restaurant, that serves chicken in almost every kind of way you can think of – burgers, wraps, purely on the bone – and these are just a few examples! Their chicken can be of a variety of heat levels, and is available with a range of side dishes! They also do other meats and vegetarian options! I have to admit, I am most definitely a Nando’s fan!

Ingredients: Water, Vinegar, Onion, Salt, Lemon (5%), Garlic (4%), Sunflower Oil, Serrano Chilli, Spices (including African Bird’s Eye Chilli – Peri-Peri Chilli), Stabilisers (Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Alginate), Antioxidant (Calcium Disodium EDTA).

When in Nando’s, they have a wide range of sauces you can use to dip your chips and dunk your chicken in for some more flavour. One of these is the Garlic Peri Peri sauce, which is my all time favourite! From the moment you crack open the bottle the garlic flavour hits you, and then it is like a garlic peri peri party in your mouth with whatever you have dipped into it! Its a vibrant orange colour with flecks if chilli and garlic giving it a lively appearance to match its taste! It comes in a nicely labeled purple bottle with the nando’s logo on it. The only downside is the bottles are small – 125ml – and therefore do not last very long!

This is a great table sauce to have in the house! Its not to spicy and can be used for a range of different accompaniments! I like to use mine on almost anything! It could be added to coleslaw or mayonnaise, used to dip chicken or chips in, drizzled on a salad, added to a chile con carne, splashed onto a burger or many other crazy ideas you might think of! One of my favourite ways to have this sauce is as a part of cheese on toast – I just spread a think layer of the sauce onto the toast, top with cheese and grill until melted! Yummy! Also equally good as a part of a nachos dish!

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**Tesco have this on offer at £1.00 a bottle until 26/2/2012

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Bodean’s Hot Chipotle BBQ Sauce Batch No. 69

Hot Juan — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 09:22:38 +0000

Bodean's Hot Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Bodean’s is a small BBQ restaurant chain with 4 branches (Soho, Clapham, Fulham and Tower Hill) we found them at the Grillstock last year where their BBQ pit crew took part in the BBQ competition. The business was started by Andre Blais in 2002 and he is attempting to provide proper slow cooked Kansas Style BBQ to the Londener.

The sauce is a nice dark brown colour, and as it contains Chipotles I was hoping to save this for my first BBQ of the year, but I just could not resist popping the lid and tasting it.

The smell is just amazing, it is like walking into a proper BBQ joint, my mouth is watering just thinking about it, the sauce is nice and thick and would make some excellent ribs if there is enough left after I have stopped drinking it from the bottle.

The taste is a mixture of tomatoes, vinegar and smoke, not a lot of heat from the Chipotles but at only 2.5% that is not surprising, but there is a little tingle on the lips. Often with product with Hickory Smoke Extract in the ingredients, I find they have over done the sugar to cover the odd after taste, but this sauce show no sign of ether problem.

Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Tomato Puree, Spirit Vinegar, Chipotle (2.5%), Modified Starch, Natural Hickory Smoke Extract, Onion, Mustard, Cider Vinegar, Salt, Garlic, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid, Cracked Black Pepper, Colour: Caramel (E150c), Spices, Spice Extract.

The bottle is a smallish at only 220g and unfortunately I cannot remember exactly where is came from, but I think is was Sainsburys or what it cost, but I will be keeping my eye out for it and visiting there stall at this years Grillstock competition.

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Deano’s Jalapeño Chips – Ranch

Hot Juan — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:41:37 +0000

Deano's Jalapeño Chips - Ranch

I have been waiting to get some of these to review ever since they appeared at the Fiery Foods Show in 2010 where they won a 3rd place in the unique snacks category, the flavour we have here is Ranch which is not a flavour we see here in the UK often.

Ranch flavour comes from a salad dressing developed by Steve Henson at the Hidden Valley Ranch, Californian in 1954. Ranch is a mixture of buttermilk, Mayonnaise, Salt, garlic, Onions with Chives, Parsley and Dill and spces up with some Black Pepper, Mustard and Paprika.

Deano’s Jalapenos Chips are made from thinly sliced Jalapeno’s that are fried and coated with the flavouring. Jalapeño aren’t the hottest of Chillies, but they have an excellent distinctive flavour so it will be interesting to see if this can still be detected after cooking and coating.

Ingredients: Jalapenos, Canola Oil, Corn Starch, Buttermilk Solids, Maltodextrin, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Whey Solids, Garlic Powder, Parsley, Guar Gum, Non fat Milk Soilds, Onion Powders & Citric Acid.

Packet kindly provided by Scorchio

As I hope you can see from the picture below these are real slices of Jalapeño, they are definitely not a crisps with a slight Jalapeño flavour or a extruded corn snack with some resemblance to the shape of the chilli.

Jalapeño Snacks - Yummie

So after all that waffle, what do they taste like?

Fantastic, as good as I had expected, they are very crisp and crunchy with a very recognisable Jalapeño flavour, warmer that I had expected, the ranch flavour is there and complements the Jalapeño, they are very easy to munch away at, the heat builds, but the flavour is irresistible you, you just have to keep going. The pack starts to seem small at only 63g, but its a very good portion.

At £3.49 for a packet from Scorchio, you are getting a lot of Jalapeños for you money, just compare this to trying to buy some fresh, my recommendation is buy some you won’t be disappointed..

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Four Seasons Preserves awarded Dorset Food Hero 2011

Hot Juan — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:37:13 +0000

Our congratulations to Maya Pieris from Four Seasons Preserves has won a Dorset food and drink awards 2011.

You may have also seen Four Seasons Preserves as they where featured on the ITV food series The Hungry Sailors episode 6 .

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New Chilli Seeds Supplier – Bountiful Seeds

Hot Juan — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:15:38 +0000

Bountiful Seeds

Ivor Davies who founded The Devils Garden has set up a new business called Bountiful Seeds in France supplying chilli seeds, Ivor moved to France as he had access to a large plot of land about an hour from Paris.

The new site is divided up into five categories of chilli seeds to choose from Annuum, Baccatum, Chinense, Frutescens and Pubescens with picture and description of each variety. Ivor tells us that the seeds come from suppliers that have been tried and tested but with a crop of intriguing chilli plants already growing in the BS polytunnels, many more chilli plants of all shapes and sizes as well as flavours will soon be added to the website.

Being based in France seems to be no hindrance to shipping seeds around Europe and to the UK costing just £2.50 for almost any quantity, while the ROW costs just £3.50. The prices look good with 10 seeds for the latest super hot chilli the Moruga Scorpion at just £2.95.

The site uses PayPal to process payments so you know your transactions are safe. www.bountifulseeds.com

Special Offer – Save 20%

We have a special off from Bountiful Seeds of 20% off until the end of March 2012 using the discount code CF2012, you can also get free delivery if you spend over £35.00 or more.

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Barry Norman Hot & Spicy Pickled Onions

Hot Juan — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:30:12 +0000

Well did you know film critic Barry Norman has a second job making pickled onions..

OK so thats is not exactly true, but they are made to a recipe that Barry had passed down to him from him Mum, who got it from her Mum etc etc. They are now made by Bennett Opie Ltd who have been making pickles and preserves since the 1880′s in Sittingbourne, Kent. We know Bennett Opie Ltd as they are the UK importers of Linghams Chilli Sauces.

Barry Norman Hot & Spicy Pickled Onions

Well during a visit to the pickles isle in my local Waitrose, I decided I would give them a try, I love pickled onions and am always looking for the best ones, at £2.55 for a jar there are a premium priced product.

Ingredients: Onions, Malt Vinegar, Brown Sugar, Salt, Spices.

As you can see from the picture the onions are in a dark malt vinegar with lots of what look like pepper corns, the odd small chilli and a lot of mustard seeds.

Well these where a great surprise, I think they where as good as any I have tried from a supermarket and will defiantly be on the shopping list when I need pickled onions.

I have eaten some hot pickled onions in the past that have almost put me on my knees, and other with a better crunch, but these are just about the perfect combination.

They are just slightly sweet, with a nice hint of chilli warmth, nothing over powering, and that mixed with a good crunchy onion made my day.

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