Italian basil, garlic and chile condiment: it might not look like much, but this is powerfully delicious

This simple and versatile recipe comes from David Rocco’s Made in Italy. Essentially just garlic, salt, various chiles, fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes covered in a bit of olive oil to preserve it, this makes a wonderfully flavorful base for a large variety of food. This is my third time making a large batch. I think of it as my kitchen helper on those tired weekdays when I need to make something with pizzazz but my energy level is less-than-perky.

I use whatever chiles are at hand. Generally I try to remove the ribs and seeds from the larger ones to control the heat. Of course all the stems must go. I don’t bother trying to clean the tiny chiles, which tend to be the hotter kind. This time around I used a lot of those tiny red Thai ones so the condiment turned out especially spicy. A little goes a long way.

Generally I add this to pasta sauces, sautéed veggies or use it with tofu or fried tempeh. Yum!

Italian basil, garlic and chile condiment

3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 poblano chile, stems, ribs and seeds removed
4 jalapeño chiles, stems, ribs and seeds removed
~½ cup Thai chiles, stems removed
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 tsp salt
~12 Italian basil leaves
Olive oil to prevent oxidation

Simply place everything but the olive oil in your food processor. Pulse until coarsely ground. Scoop into a cleaned jar. Pack down a bit and cover with olive oil to prevent oxidation. Seal with lid and keep refrigerated. I’ve no idea how long this can last but have happily used mine over a few weeks. I merely top it up with olive oil each time.