Updated: Unhippy Carrot Habanero Hot Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 head of garlic, roasted*
• 2 carrots, washed and chopped (peeled if fussy)
• 7 habanero peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 3/4 C. orange juice
• 1/4 C. lime juice
• 3/4 C. apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp. kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Spread onions on a baking sheet. Roast until onions start browning, 10-20 minutes.
3. In a saucepan or saucier, add the onions, garlic, carrots, habaneros, lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer until the sauce is reduced by about 1/3, 45-50 minutes.
4. Using a blender (or immersion blender), carefully blend the mixture until smooth. Return to the heat and simmer until the sauce is as thick as ketchup – or as thick as you’d like.
5. Serve.

Cooks’s notes

• I actually roasted the garlic along with the onions. Cut the top off a head of garlic, remove as much paper as you can, rub sparingly with olive oil.
• This is based on Carrot Habanero Citrus Hot sauce from Wicked Healthy.
• This is pretty mild as a hot sauce, but the flavor is amazing. Adjust with more habanero, or other types of peppers (Carolina Reapers, etc) if your taste runs hotter.
• UPDATED: Some variations that I’ve worked on:
  • Cold smoke the vegetables and peppers before building the sauce.
  • Substitute grapefruit juice for the orange and lime juice.