Recipes don’t get much simpler than this. If you can fry some courgettes you can make this delicious vegetarian tart. This is a great vegetarian lunch dish – perfect served with a salad or alternatively served as a side at a bbq.

I usually cheat and use ready made pastry as its so much easier and produces great results. Feel free to make your own though!

Courgette and Chilli Tart Ingredients

1 roll of pre made puff pastry
1 handful of freshly grated parmesan
2 large courgettes
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 freshly chopped red chillies
Fresh thyme (lemon thyme if possible)

Method

Thinly slice the courgettes and fry  gently in the olive oil with the garlic. Depending on the size of you pan you may have to do them in batches. Set the fried courgettes to one side.

Next lightly flour a baking tray and place your pastry on top. Sprinkle 1 table spoon of grated parmesan onto the pastry along with a few twists of black pepper.

Place the cooked courgettes on top of the parmesan making sure they overlap and leaving only about 2cm of pastry showing round the edges. Next sprinkle the freshly chopped chillies, thyme and remainder of the parmesan on top.

Drizzle with olive oil and lightly brush the edges of the pastry with a beaten egg or milk to help golden. Finally cook in a medium oven (about 180 degrees C) for about 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

If you like Habanero peppers then you will love this recipe. Habaneros produce such a wonderful flavour that it’s best not to add too many different ingredients to a salsa such as this. Habanero salsas are served with most meals all of the Yucatan peninsula.

While traveling around Mexico a few years ago we became fascinated with the different variations of this salsa. In quite  lot of places they’d serve 4 or 5 different versions together at the table, each using a different variety of Habanero and slightly different recipe.

This recipe is the base of most recipes we found. In Mexico they call it a salsa but in reality it can be used on almost any dish like a regular hot sauce. In our opinion the best way to eat it is with a simple dish such as scrambled eggs.

Habanero Salsa Ingredients

• 4 x Habaneros

• 3 x cloves of garlic

• 1 x teaspoon of salt

• Juice from 1 lime

• Juice from 1/2 an orange

Method

Place the habanero peppers and garlic cloves onto a baking tray and place under a medium grill, turning regularly. Once the chillies are just starting to blacken remove and allow to cool. Once cooled de-seed the habaneros and remove the garlic from it’s skin. Add both, along with the salt to either a pestle and mortar of food processor and blend into a rough paste – you don’t want to liquidize the two, leave a little texture.

Next add the lime and orange juice and mix well. You can also add a little lime zest to add an extra tang. The salsa will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks in a sealed container.

This stuffed pepper recipe makes a great starter for an evening meal or a nice lunch along with a fresh salad.. Inspired by Mediterranean cooking this is a light and delicious recipe and very easy to make. Please excuse the poor photo (i don’t have my camera to hand) – trust me they look a lot better in real life and taste absolutely sublime!

Stuffed Romano Peppers Ingredients

• 4 sweet Romano peppers
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• 1 pack of feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon of capers
• handful of fresh basil leaves
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• dried oregano

Method

Carefully take a sharp knife and make a slit down the length of each pepper. With a teaspoon gently scrape out the seeds/pith from inside each peppers being careful not to tear them open.

Slice up the feta and place length ways inside each pepper. Finely chop the chilli and distribute it evenly through out the peppers along with the capers, oregano and basil leaves. Add a drizzle of olive oil to each pepper along with a good twist of black pepper. You may not need to add salt as the feta cheese is usually quite salty.

Place the stuffed peppers onto a baking tray, drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake at about 180 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the peppers are just starting to brown but still have a little crunch to them.

This is a great little recipe for a fresh chilli pickle which makes a perfect accompaniment to any Indian meal. You can vary the amounts of ingredients to taste or depending on how hot you like it.

Chilli Pickle Ingredients

1 red sweet chilli peppeer
2 fresh green birds eye chillies
1 reaspoon of salt
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
2 cloves of garlic
1 knob ginger
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 small chink of tamarind paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. As soon as they start popping add cumin seeds, crushed garlic, finely chopped ginger and fry off for a minute or two. Next add the turmeric and chilli powder and stir well.

Next add the tamarind paste (ideally pre-soaked in a little vinegar to loosen it up), sugar, fresh chillies, pepper, salt and fry off on a slightly lower heat. Once cooked down for a few minutes add the fresh lime, stir in well and allow to cool before serving. It’ll keep in the fridge for a few days.

I recently tasted these while on holiday in Spain. Sometimes it is the simple recipes that are best and this fried padron recipe  is no exception.

Method

Wash the peppers and set aside to dry. Meanwhile fill a small pan with about 2cm of olive oil and heat.

Carefully fry the peppers for 1-2 minutes. You’ll need to keep turning them and be careful not to burn the skins as this can happen in a few seconds. Once done, remove from the pan and place on some kitchen roll to drain. Sprinkle with some sea salt and serve with a cold beer. Beautiful.

I’ve been receiving a lot of mail from readers recently about our recipes. We’ve been posting chilli related recipes on the site for quite a while now so I thought I’d pull together a list of our top 10 most popular recipes we’ve posted here on the ChilliKing over the last few years in case you missed any of them.

1. Chilli Oil

Without doubt our most popular recipe. Simple to prepare and incredibly flexible we always have a couple of bottles of chilli oil in the kitchen and use on top of pizzas/pasta, in salad dressings or as a regular cooking oil to add a bit of heat.

2. Chilli Chutney

This chutney recipe is perfect for the end of the summer when you have plenty of fruit and veg kicking around and needs using up. I have to ration myself with this chutney as it is highly addictive!

3. Chilli Con Carne

What can i say, no list of chilli recipes would be complete without a chilli con carne.

4. Chilly Jelly

Great with cheese and biscuits or in toasted sandwiches this is a classic recipe.

5. Lime Pickle

You won’t go back to shop bought jars of lime pickle once you’ve tried this recipe. Quick to make, authentic and delicious.

6. Aubergine Curry

This is probably the most unusual recipe on the list. It’s an authentic Indian curry recipe I learned a few years ago on my first visit to India.

8. Tomato Sauce

This is probably my most used recipe. Easy to make and incredibly flexible it forms the base of most of the dishes i cook ranging from pasta, pizza, tomato based curries, soups and stews. I can’t beleive I used to buy ready made tomato pasta sauces….

9. Scotch Bonnet Sauce

If you love hot peppers then this sauce will be a big hit. Simplicity is the key with the only ingredients being scotch bonnets, vinegar, salt,, sugar and water. It is seriously hot and revels in the great taste of Scotch Bonnets. This is my personal favourite.

10.Spicy Cous Cous Salad

Fresh, healthy, easy to make and delicious, what more needs to be said?

So there we are. I hope you’ll give some of these recipes a go and be sure to get in touch if you have any killer recipes you’d like us to post.

This is a recipe inspired by a Jami Oliver recipe I tried many years ago. Easy to make and delicious it is great if you have people coming over as you can prepare it in advance.

Chilli Cheese Pasta Bake Ingredients

1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 red chilli
3 tins of tomatoes
large handful of basil
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
400 g of dried pasta
4 handfuls of grated parmesan
3 balls of mozerella

Method

In a deep pan fry off the chopped onion, garlic and chilli in some olive oil until the onions have softened.

Next add the tomatoes along with a splash of water. Simmer for 15 minutes then liquidise in a food processor

Add salt, pepper, basil leaves and the vinegar to the sauce.

Boil your pasta according to the instructions. Drain the pasta and mix in half of the tomato sauce.

Add a layer of the pasta to a medium baking dish followed by a layer of sliced mozzarella and tomato sauce and Parmesan. Keep adding the layers until everything is in the tray and cook at about 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

This is without doubt my favourite Indian dish. You rarely find it on the menu at your standard ‘Curry House’ but go to India and it is served everywhere. It’s rich and creamy taste is wonderful served on it’s ow with just some naan or roti and some plain rice.

The secret to the great taste is to slow cook the dal over several hours to allow it’s flavour to release and combine with the other ingredients. Makhan means butter in Punjabi. This is a rich dish so best not eaten too often but it tastes out of this world.

Please, give this recipe a go one day, you won’t regret it.

Dal Makhini Recipe Ingredients

1kg of black lentils

200 grams of channa dal

100 grams of Ginger paste

1 1/2 tins of tomato puree

50grams of red chilli powder (more for colour than heat)

100 ml of vegetable oil

500 grams of butter

500 grams of cream

5 grams of Kasuri methi powder

100 grams of Ghee

Salt to taste

Method:

It is important to soak the dal in water over night as this will help loosen it up and make the cooking time shorter.

First Place the two types of dal into a bowl with a little water and a couple of teaspoons of salt. Rub together for a few minutes then wash the dal with clean water several times. This both cleans the dal and removes any starch. Add the dal to a large pot with enough water to cover ans bring to the boil. After boiling for 5 minutes drain and set the dal aside.

In the large pot add the oil and when hot fry off the ginger paste for 2 minutes. Next add the chilli powder and the tomato puree. Stir in and simmer for several minutes. Next add the daal to the pot along with the ghee, some salt and the butter. Bring to a very low simmer and cook for at least 5 hours (yes that was a 5!).

Just before serving stir in the methi powder and cream and serve hot.

This spicy lentil stew is a great one pot recipe fit for any winters night. Not only is it easy to make but it is incredible healthy too.

Spicy Puy Lentil Stew Recipe Ingredients

1 cup of puy lentils
1 medium onion
1 cup of white wine
3 potatoes
1 liter of vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 large sprig of thyme
1 handful of spinach leaves
1 table spoon of red wine vinegar
1 chilli
1 teaspoon of turmeric
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
5 tablespoons of olive oil

Method

Finely chop the onions and garlic and add to a deep pan with the olive oil over a medium heat. Once the onion begins to go translucent add the chopped carrot, celery and potatoes and stir for about 3 minutes.

Next add the white wine, thyme, bay leaves, chopped chilli, turmeric, lentils and stir for a further 2 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients except the spinach.

Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Then add the spinach and simmer for a further 25 minutes.

You may need to add more water now and again to prevent the stew drying out too much.

A while a go I discovered this great no knead bread recipe that showed me it was possible to make truly great bread with minimal work or mess. Seriously if you like good quality bread you MUST try this bread recipe.

When I first wrote up the bread recipe I promised to experiment with the recipe to make a chilli bread. Well finally at the weekend I got round to playing with the original recipe and after a couple of goes came up with this…

As stated above the bread is really easy to make. I just followed the original recipe and added the following ingredients when mixing the flour, yeast, water and salt.

• 2 finely chopped cayenne peppers

• 1 sprig of finely chopped rosemery

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

The resulting bread is much like the original, close to a good ciabatta in texture with the faintest hint of rosemery and chilli. I’m really please with this chilli bread though I may continue experimenting, maybe adding some sun dried tomatoes to add another layer of flavor.