"Piment la pâte" as we say in creole is a staple of Reunion cuisine. If you ever go to Reunion Island you'll see it sold everywhere including the supermarkets, but the best chilli paste is the one you buy on the side of the road, as they're home made. Now, in Reunion we use it as a little condiment with any of our main meals. But here in the UK, you can just add it to a curry sauce, or to spice up a marinade. This one is for the chilli fans. I love it and just can't leave without it! My stock is running low, so I had to make some more. So easy to make.
250 g of birds eye green chilli (can be red too)
150 g of scotch bonnet
One TBSP size of ginger
2 fat cloves of garlic
Two tablespoons of sunflower oil
Two tablespoons of white wine vinegar
Two tablespoons of rock salt
Two steralized jars
Start by washing the chillies with water and get rid of the stalks.
Finely sliced your garlic and ginger.
Blend all the chillies in a food processor.
Sterilise your jars, fill them with water and put them in the microwave until the water boils. Get rid of the water and air dry them.
In a bowl, add your chilli paste, the salt, the oil, the vinegar, the sliced garlic and ginger, and mix.
Spoon them into your jars, top the jars with oil so the paste is completely covered then close your jars.
Leave your jars in a cool, dry place for a good two weeks before using, the longer you leave it the better as the flavour develops. Keep for a year. Once the jar is opened, keep it in the fridge.
In Reunion Island, we use the paste directly with our meal, but it’s also nice to add to a meat marinade, a curry or a spicy salad.
Bon appétit!
Corinne
You can find the step by step video on YouTube
In Reunion Island, we don’t. But if you are making a curry for example, you can rustle up a quick chilli paste, by mixing crushed garlic, ginger and your powdered chilli with two TBSP of vegetable oil.