I enjoy working with peppers and the Habanero is one of my favorites. Habanero means from Havana. For those of you familiar with Caribbean cuisine, you may know the Habanero as the Scotch Bonnet pepper. In actuality, the Scotch Bonnet is a different pepper. It has a slightly different shape, but is very similar in heat and flavor to the Habanero. For our purposes they are interchangeable. Habaneros and Scotch Bonnet peppers are extremely hot, measuring from 300,000 – 580,000 units on the Scoville heat scale. Compare that to the Jalapeno which comes in anywhere from 8,000 up to 25,000 units. Always, always take precautions when working with Habaneros. I recommend using thick kitchen gloves when working with them. Or if those aren’t a proper fit, use latex gloves but be sure to double glove. Trust me(I know); you don’t want to touch anything you’ve got with hot Habanero hands. I won’t share my cautionary tale, but suffice it to say, it’s a cautionary tale.
I owned a small specialty food company and specialized in creating exotic tasty food items, but I realized I don’t like to cook; if that makes any sense at all. Creating and sharing my recipes brings me a lot of joy. In addition to sauces and salads, I really like to use the peppers in unexpected recipes like my Habanero Caramel Cookies or Homemade Caramel Sauce with Habaneros. I’ve included the recipe below. The pepper adds a delicious complexity. I simply chop the peppers fine and stir them into warm caramel and serve. It is ideal if you can allow the caramel to sit until it is infused with the heat of the peppers. This recipe works equally well any store bought caramel sauce. If you prefer your caramel sauce smooth then you can reheat the caramel and strain out the peppers through a strainer or sieve. The liquid smoke is an optional component and works best in salads or with meat dishes. For the sweeter items, it may prove a little too exotic for some palates
You want to be sure to remove the seeds and the membrane as that does curtail the heat a smidge.
Oven Roasted Habaneros
Ingredient List
30 medium habanero peppers
2 T garlic powder
2 T olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp brown sugar
1 T smoke flavoring(optional)
I repeat; always wear gloves when working with habanero peppers. Slice peppers in half.Toss in a bowl with garlic powder, olive oil, sea salt,brown sugar and smoke flavor. Let sit in the fridge for an hour. Lay peppers on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 200 degree oven for one hour or until the peppers take on a raisin like appearance. Store in an airtight container or in a jar with Balsamic vinegar.
Homemade Caramel with Chopped Habaneros
1 C sugar
1 C heavy cream
Water
½ C chopped habaneros
In heavy bottomed sauce pan add 1 C sugar and enough water to wet to dampen the sugar. Heat pan until the sugar starts to melt and begins turning an amber color. Turn off heat and add 1 C cream slowly, stirring continuously. Once caramel is the desired consistency, add chopped habanero peppers.
Recipes courtesy Demetria Dixon ©2006
