Sauces & Jams · By James
Aji Lemon Chili Salsa
Alec McClay was the inspiration for this salsa, when Sharon and I visited Alec and Jill in Ottawa the year Joc was clerking at the Supreme Court: 2021/22. Alec served this amazing yellow salsa, and I couldn't stop dipping into it. Properly gratified, Alec offered to send home a bag of these chilies and the salsa recipe so I could make it myself. We saved the seeds and have been growing these chilies ever since, and making his salsa — its fame is spreading quickly! Currently, Cal, Phil and Brooke, Ken and Diana, and Joc are growing the chilies. It's amazing with tortilla chips, eggs, and once you have had it on chicken wings, you'll never go back.
Ingredients
- 80 g Aji Lemon (Lemon Drop) chilies (about 12 chilies)
- 250 g of yellow bell (sweet) peppers (about 2 large ones)
- 3 fresh ripe Ataulfo ("Honey") mangoes, peeled and pitted — if using the larger green-red mangoes (Tommy Atkins is the most common type) then just use 2
- ½ white onion, finely diced
- 1 cup of light brown sugar
- 1½ tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1¼ cups white-wine vinegar
- 1 cup of citrus juice — ½ cup lime and ½ cup lemon, with lemon zest of 1 lemon added (you will need about 6 limes and about 3 lemons)
Method
- 1
Add all of the ingredients, except lime juice, to a pan and cook slowly until the peppers are soft (25 minutes).
- 2
Cool mixture. Then add mixture to a food processor, add lime/lemon juice and lemon rind, and blend to a smooth batter.
- 3
Makes 1.5 litres of salsa.
A note from James
It keeps for many months in the fridge (I kept one jar for a year and it was great). However, once you've tasted it, it will not last that long! Drink/wine pairing: Margarita, Sharon's TnT, or cerveza.
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