Habañero Hot Sauce

A raucous gem of a habañero sauce has been showing up these past few years at many a hip Portland, Oregon brunch spot. It’s got a healthy punch, yet it’s approachable and sweet, and it’s made right here in Evermine’s hometown by a company called Secret Aardvark. It was this new interpretation of habañero that inspired a Halloween gift idea, with perfectly seasonal ingredients and perfectly spooky colors!

This sauce capitalizes on the natural sweetness of carrot, onion and sweet potato, which endow it with more body than most hot sauces, a perfect excuse to wrap it up in a squeeze bottle with a charming label. I used large oval Vintage Museo labels in burlap tuxedo, which looks great on translucent squeeze bottles.

Scary Good Habañero Hot Sauce (GF, vegan)

1 can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes, including juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups of peeled and grated carrots (packed into the measuring cup)
2 cups of finely diced white onion
1 1/2 cups shredded Yam
9 habaneros, (seeded or not, depending on how hot you’d like the sauce)
1/2 head garlic
2 tablespoons mustard seed powder
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup honey (or sugar)
1 cup of water or just enough to cover

Throw all of the ingredients in a pot and simmer for an hour or two until all the veggies are soft and the flavors are well mixed. Unceremoniously, throw this thick soup into a blender and let ‘er loose–blending until you’ve achieved a uniform pureé. Coax it into squeezy condiment bottles, label and practice your, “No big deal.” shrug.

Refrigerate. This recipe makes enough sauce to fill about four 12 oz squeeze bottles, which are available online and locally in some areas. As the label says, it really is good on everything.

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