Make Ahead

Habanero Fruit Sauce

by:
May  4, 2010
5
1 Ratings
  • Makes about 1 cup, serves 4
Author Notes

I tweaked a recipe I found online and this is what I came up with! I love this sauce with shrimp, but it is really versatile...I have used it with grilled salmon, tilapia, grilled chicken (will post recipe). I usually use mango nectar as my "fruit" for the sauce, although I would imagine that other fruit nectars (peach, guava, pineapple, pear) would work really well, too! The hubby and I love spicy foods, so I use a whole habanero pepper. I wouldn't go any less than half of one pepper...and if you like heat and spice, go ahead and add as many peppers as you want! Info: 87 calories, 2g fat, 0 chol, 8.5mg sodium, 19g carbs, 12.5g sugars, 2.5g fiber —Laurel W

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 1 habanero pepper (more than 1 if you are a brave soul!!)
  • 1 can (12oz) fruit nectar, I use mango, but you can be creative!
  • juice from one lime; can add more at end to taste
  • fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon oil, canola or grapeseed
Directions
  1. In a saucepan over medium-high, get the oil hot and then add the onion and garlic. Cook down until the onions are softened.
  2. Slice the pepper, remove seeds and cut into thin strips. I wear gloves when I do this. If you don't have gloves, use a plastic grocery bag to cover your finger-tips. [Trust me; you will thank me later... you do not want that pepper juice to go burning any eyes/noses/lips/etc after you chop up the pepper!] Add the pepper to the saucepan.
  3. Give it a minute or so and let the pepper have a little party in the pan with your onions and garlic. Then add your nectar. Mix well.
  4. Turn the mixture up to high and boil. You want to reduce the sauce down to about 1 cup. It will thicken a lot, so keep an eye on it. This will take 3-5min, but I usually stay near by and keep an eye on it.
  5. Once you get about 1 cup, remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool down to room temp. Put the sauce into a mini-chopper (or something that will totally blend everything together) and blend until it looks very uniform in texture and much smoother.
  6. Add the lime juice and chopped cilantro and stir. If you wanted to serve it now, you can...but I like to have it super cold, so I throw it in the fridge for a little bit before serving. I prefer to actually make the sauce the night before I need to use it and have all the flavors combine overnight in the fridge. Yum! Will keep for a few days in the fridge.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

0 Reviews