So So Spicy Schug… hot sauce of the Yemenite variety.

 

with pita and hummus

 

I LOVE all things spicy. And schug is among my favorites of spicy condiments. Schug is a Yemenite hot sauce that can be used to add some heat and flavor to savory dishes, and is a true soul mate for a good hummus. We’ve always had a container of schug on hand in our fridge and it’s replacement waiting to be cracked open in the freezer. Seeing the deep glossy green chili peppers in the shuk this week provoked my Yemenite side and attempt to make my own version of schug.

You can make schug with either red or green peppers depending on your personal preference. So I went with green schug, and let me tell you… it was exceptionally spicy and very very delicious.  But the level of heat is completely up to you.  It’s simple enough to make, just throw all the ingredients into a food processor and voila! you’ve made a perfect spicy sauce to match your palate. The product is a beautiful bright green chili paste with a great texture. I left the seeds in the chilies because that’s where all the heat comes from, but if you’re more sensitive and don’t like things too spicy and want more of the hot sauce flavor remove the seeds. Add more coriander (cilantro to Americans) to cool the peppers.  If you want more of what I call the “kick” of a hot sauce and less of the spicy add more garlic.

Here’s what I did….

Green Schug Recipe:

4-5 green chilies (with the seeds)

6 gloves of garlic

bundle of coriander (aka cilantro)

cardamom

pepper

cumin

olive oil

a pinch salt

Remove the seeds from the chilies (or leave them in if you want to heat) and cut the peppers into equal sizes, removes the leaves from the stems of the coriander, toss all the ingredients into your food processor, it should not take too long to get everything chopped up. The texture shouldn’t be completely smooth, I would say very small chunks, not as chunky as some salsas, but not perfectly smooth like Tabasco. Put it in a container like a glass jar and keep it in the fridge.

Excellent to add flavor to pita and hummus, tehina, meats, vegetable dishes, soups….

Experiment and get creative with what you throw in there.