JamieOliver.com

I love chillies so much that I have withdrawal symptoms feel a bit miserable and lethargic if I go without them for a while! When I think about chilli, even on a cold winter’s day, the back of my tongue starts to tingle. In fact, my mouth is watering while I’m writing this... Now you might be thinking this is all very strange, but actually it’s not. Eating chillies gets the endorphins going in your body, giving you a rush of blood, making you sweat, while also causing a sense of vigour and well-being. Eating chillies also speeds up your metabolism by 25 per cent, helping you to burn off calories quicker and not store them as fat in your body. But, most importantly, chillies taste great.



I used to think that chillies were chillies, but I now know that’s like saying a glass of wine is a glass of wine. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from, differing in heat and possessing a whole range of flavours, from an intense peachiness to crisp apple. They can be petally, perfumy, fragrant and fruity. They can have a clean, short-lived heat, or a really robust, chunky, concentrated, long-living heat. Basically, with chillies you can tweak, change and improve all kinds of dishes. And when you smash up fresh chillies with fragrant things like kaffir lime leaves and fresh ginger, you can create the most incredible cocktail of smells and perfumes known to cooking. This type of Asian-style flavour mix is brilliant, whether for smearing over a piece of roasted fish or for using in a curry.

You might be someone who doesn’t like ‘hot’ food, but just because you’re using chilli in your cooking doesn’t mean you have to use loads – you can be subtle. The big rule about eating a chilli is to lick it first, then try a tiny bite to find out its heat. If you ever do get caught out eating chillies, don’t drink beer or alcohol as these will exaggerate the pain. Have a glass of milk or some yoghurt instead.

It might sound strange, but the tiniest hint of chilli heat in any chocolate dish is incredible. Shellfish and vegetables are jaw-droppingly delicious when tossed in a little chopped chilli, mint and lemon oil. Anything crunchy or crispy and salty, be it poppadoms or crisps or flatbreads, with a hellishly hot chilli salsa or sauce is just brilliant.

Tips for handling chillies
• It’s not the seeds or the flesh that contain the heat of a chilli – it’s the fine white membrane that holds the seeds. As soon as you cut through it, the heat is released. So, when you deseed a chilli, you need to scrape out this membrane as well as the seeds.

• If you’re handling really hot chillies, it’s always a good idea to wear kitchen gloves. And whatever you do, don’t rub your eyes afterwards! Always wash your hands straight away.

PS Oh, and peppers are quite nice too! They’re part of the same family as chillies; they come in different colours, shapes and sizes, but they don’t have the heat of chillies.

How I grow chillies and peppers
Soil
In the UK, chillies and peppers usually don’t grow too well in the garden – it’s just not warm enough (although things seem to be getting hotter every year!). However, I’ve had great success growing mine in pots, using good organic potting compost, and keeping them inside – or in growbags in a hot, sunny spot, like a sheltered patio or against a south-facing wall. You must wait for the last frosts to be over before moving them outside. They should be brought back indoors when it turns cold again in the autumn.

Planting
Chillies and peppers are grown in exactly the same way. You can use bought seeds or home-dried ones. The advantage of drying the seeds yourself is that you can find the ones you like the taste (and, with chillies, the heat) of; the disadvantage is that your success rate will most likely be lower than with bought seeds.

There are literally hundreds of exciting and unusual varieties available to buy from specialist suppliers (see page 395), and starting them off early gives them the long growing season they need. You should sow them between January and March. If you’re using seeds from a chilli or pepper that you’ve dried, just give it a shake. If it sounds like a maraca, you’re in business! Simply break the chilli or pepper open and pour out the seeds. Get yourself a 5 to 10cm pot and fill it with your potting compost. Using your finger, make three little holes about 0.5cm deep in the compost and drop a couple of seeds into each hole. Cover over and water carefully.

If both seeds in each hole start to grow, you’ll need to remove the weaker seedling to leave you with three strong ones in each pot. When they reach 8 to 12cm in height, transfer the whole lot into a larger pot (one that’s 20cm wide should do them for the whole growing season). If they look a little under the weather at any time, give them an occasional feed with an organic liquid fertiliser. Tomato feed is great for chillies and peppers too.

Harvesting and storing
Chillies and peppers will start forming soon after the first flowers fade. Most varieties are green at first and start changing colour as they ripen. They can actually be harvested at any stage once they’ve reached a reasonable size. Remember, though, that the heat of the chillies and the flavour of both will develop the riper they get.

Chillies are so versatile when it comes to storing or preserving. I usually dry them – all you need to do is get yourself a piece of thick cotton and a big needle, and thread it through the green stalks. Rack up as many as you’ve got and hang them up in your kitchen; it’ll look really nice and rustic. They can also be turned into salsas, chutneys (see page 321) and rubs, or used to flavour oil. They’re also really good when used to make flavoured salt.

My growing tips
• Don’t keep the plants too wet, and don’t overfeed them, as this, believe it or not, gives you less tasty fruit!

• If you pick the fruit when green this often stimulates the plant into making new flowers, giving you more fruit.

• Just in case you’re under threat from any rampaging elephants, large tropical chilli plants can be grown as hedges round your vegetable garden to keep them at bay!

From Jamie at Home