Mrs. FAI puts chilli on just about everything, or rather, she would if I allowed her. To her mind, there's simply no food, or combinations thereof, that won't benefit from being drenched in heat. Chilli has an affinity with most things Mediterranean and Mexican, Near and Far East, however, I put my foot down when she wants to spoon chilli over, say, a quenelle of poached fish with leeks, or a Comté souffle. Just...no.
Sometimes I wonder if chilli is a food crutch, the adult version of slathering ketchup on the dreaded vegetables that your thin-lipped parent insists you eat.
I like Tabasco on my oysters, Sriracha on eggs, MSG-riddled Chinese flavoured chilli oil on fried rice, but for me, the Italian way of preserving fresh chillies in olive oil yields the tastiest results. A pizza or tomatoey pasta is naked without it.
This fruity, spicy condiment gets better with age. Fresh chillies lend a length and depth of flavour (not just heat) that shop-bought, long-dried chillies can't match. You can top up the oil for a while without diluting the fruit's punch. I suppose if you live adjacent to an olive grove you'd happily use your best cold pressed extra virgin, but I have obtained very good results with pomace oil, which is significantly cheaper. Use whatever you can afford.
Holy Oil
Buy a couple of large handfuls of fresh, red chillies. Although you could use piri-piri or bird's eye, I prefer the slightly milder large red “cayenne”style pepper. Remove the green stalks and chop the chillies into 1cm long slices. Don't remove the seeds. Take care not to rub your eyes until you have washed your hands thoroughly, unless you desire to look like the Bride of Wildenstein.
Now place all the chilli pieces in a sieve, add 1 cupful of coarse salt, and place the sieve above a glass or ceramic bowl. Leave for a week, during which the salt will leach all moisture out of the chillies. Stir every now and then so that the salt mixes well with the chillies. You can use the liquor which accumulates in the bowl to flavour cholent or curry, if so desired. Don't be tempted to hurry this procedure. The chillies must be dry before being steeped in oil: any residual water may turn the fruit rotten and there is a risk of botulism, which is really rather nasty.
After a week, pick the chillies out of the salt, shaking out as much loose salt as possible, and then place in a glass jar. Top with olive oil, and leave for a week so the oil can draw flavour. This oil can be kept in the store cupboard.
Keep the salt. I use it every year, topping up when necessary, and after a while it will be a beautiful pink colour and dotted with chilli seeds (my stash is visible on the left of the photo). It is lovely used as a punchy table salt.
