Chillies

IF asked to name an invention by an Irish chef which is the very essence of modern cookery, I think I would have to opt for this…

IF asked to name an invention by an Irish chef which is the very essence of modern cookery, I think I would have to opt for this chilli sauce, the work of Conrad Gallagher of Dublin's Peacock Alley restaurant.

What makes it so modern? Well, it is utterly distinctive, reverberantly colourful, brilliantly useful, tinglingly hot, not too complicated, and it is typical of modern cooking in the way it combines and adapts techniques, being sort of a sauce, and yet sort of an oil, and maybe even somehow related to an aioli, which is how Mr Gallagher refers to it.

It pairs quite marvellously with risotto, thanks to the kick of the chilli offsetting the starch of the rice, but in fact this sauce would be perfect with grilled meats and roasted fish. It is the perfect invention to celebrate the steady trickle of lovely Irish grown chillies which are emerging from tunnels and greenhouses throughout the country.

Chilli Sauce

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100ml (3fl oz) olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 red chillies, sliced

1 tablespoon tomato puree

2 tomatoes chopped fresh rosemary

Begin 24 hours in advance. Saute the garlic, chilli and rosemary in the olive oil. Add the tomato puree and tomatoes. Gently cook until the chilli softens.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool and infuse overnight. Sieve, pushing through the tomato pulp and the oil. Stir before using.