Kem Ormond’s vegetable garden: Recipe for sweet chilli sauce - from your own chillies

Chillies are relatively easy to grow and take very little looking after. Photo / Sonya Holm

Kem Ormond is a features writer for NZME community newspapers and The Country. She’s also a keen gardener. This week, she’s not only sharing her top tips for growing chillies but also how to make sweet chilli sauce from them.

OPINION

I love this time of year when I order my vegetable seeds for the coming summer season.

Apart from anything in the brassica family, all the vegetable plants are sown from seed in my household.

Already onion seeds are sunning themselves in their trays in the small amount of sunshine available at this time of year.

Come August, I will be sowing my chilli seeds in seed boxes, in anticipation of planting out luscious-looking plants once the chance of any frost has gone.

Usually, it’s October here in the North Island but it can be in November in cooler regions down south.

The variety of chilli seeds I plant is called “Chilli Cayenne Flame”.

As I like to make bottles of chilli sauce to get me through winter, I have found this variety to be reliable and it produces a good crop of chillies.

These chillies are not too hot and they freeze well.

You grow your crops in summer, turn them into chilli jam and sauce, and then freeze the rest to be made into more delicious preserves when you have time.

Chillies: Planting from seed

I usually sow my seeds in seed trays, but they can be sown in pretty much any container, tray, or pot.

Make sure you use a good quality seed-raising mix and fill the container to within 2-3cm from the rim and then using the palm of your hand, or a flat piece of smooth wood, press down on the mix to create a firm surface.

Sow your seed evenly and lightly cover the seed with a seed-raising mix, I have a small sieve that I use which I find useful.

Then with a watering can or water container, spray a fine mist of water over the whole tray or container.

Read on for Kem Ormond's sweet chilli sauce recipe. Photo / Kem Ormond

I place a sheet of glass or some chicken wire or fine mesh steel on top, adding a few layers of newspaper on top to prevent the seed mix from drying out too quickly and remove the covering once the seedlings appear.

Make sure wherever you have these seedlings it is safe from your or your neighbour’s cat.

I have come home after leaving the door to my little shed open, only to find my cat bathing in the seed boxes fast asleep!

Make sure the seedlings get even light or they will start to grow towards the light and get all leggy.

When large enough to manage, transplant seedlings into a suitable container, approximately 4cm apart.

Harden off plants by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions before planting them in their final growing location.

Moving chillies into the vegetable garden

Chillies appreciate being planted in a warm sunny spot and they will thank you for some organic matter, sheep pellets or even some of your well-rotted compost.

When I first plant my seedlings out, I like to start them in one of those small tunnel cloches and I always make sure they are kept moist during their growing season.

I don’t usually stake mine, but if you are in an area prone to wind or notice your plants are getting quite tall, stake them for peace of mind.

Chillies are relatively easy to grow and take very little looking after.

They grow approximately 12cm long, tapering to a point and changing from dark green to bright red at maturity.

Don’t fret if you see some growing curled and twisted, as they just decide to do that on the odd occasion.

They take approximately three months to mature.

If looked after, they will continue to grow until the first frost hits them.

How to use chillies

As mentioned above, I enjoy making chilli jam and sweet chilli sauce, but you can use chillies to make a paste for curries used in Indonesian or Asian cooking.

They can be used whole, dried or pickled, or can be used as condiments or crushed and ground for seasoning.

I often make rich red chilli oil with some of the dried chilli I have, and these are always great gifts for friends.

Here is the sweet chilli sauce recipe I use. . . yes de-seeding the chillis is an awful job, but when you have those bottles in your pantry, it will feel all worth it!

Summer will bring an abundance of chillies and this recipe will turn all those wonderful red chillies into the most glorious sweet and sticky sauce that can be added to dishes or used as a dipping sauce.

Sweet chilli sauce recipe

Ingredients

• 500g long fresh red chillies, stems trimmed
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 3 cups caster sugar

Method

1. Halve 100g of the chillies and place in the bowl of a food processor, Halve and de-seed the remaining chillies. Coarsely chop and place in the food processor. Add garlic and 250ml white vinegar. Process until finely chopped.
2. Place the chilli mixture of remaining vinegar and caster sugar in a large saucepan over low heat. Cook stirring for 5 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally for 35-40 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Pour into sterilised jars and seal.