AJI AMARILLO SAUCE

This is such a winning recipe but first let me start off by saying, Aji Amarillo is a Peruvian pepper that we started growing several years ago.  Scott ordered some seeds online and this was one of the ones he ordered.  It along with MOA Scotch Bonnets are probably our favorite peppers.  Aji Amarillo peppers are members of the capsicum buccatum family.  I think one of the reasons we like this pepper so much is the fact it has hints of fruitiness just like the Scotch Bonnet pepper does.  Aji means chili pepper and Amarillo means yellow.  This delightful pepper starts off green and then turns yellow and at maturity, it is a gorgeous orange.

They normally grow to be 4 or 5 inches long but sometimes they can be smaller.  This year we had some that were 1 1/2 to 2 inches but most were the norm size of 4 to 5 inches.  These peppers are called chili peppers because they do pack some heat. On the Scoville scale, they register in at 30,000 to 50,000.  

Another interesting fact about this pepper is the flower.  The flower is hermaphrodite and the petals are a snowy white while the corolla is either gold or green.  

At the time of harvest that first year we honestly had no clue what to do with this beautiful orange carrot looking pepper.  THEN Scott found a few ideas by research online for recipes.  In Peruvian cuisine, this pepper is very important.  It is used for all types of recipes and sauces.  Scott actually has a lady that works for the company he works for that is from Peru.  She was amazed that we knew about these lovely peppers.  This year our Aji plants came from our friend Wade.  Unfortunately, they were not Aji Amarillo peppers.  They were jalapenos. Scott had given this lady some plants from Wade and the poor lady nurtured them to find out they were jalapenos.  We are going to give her one of the 3 plants that we have been able to harvest true Aji Amarillo peppers from though.

We chose to roast our peppers and take the peeling off, as you would do for roasted red peppers.  This really helps with an amazing flavor and it is an important step when making this sauce.

Once roasted and you have steamed them in a brown bag, you can easily remove the skins and seeds.  

This sauce is made by first making a true aioli sauce.  Which is oil and eggs blended to make an aioli.  Once that is made Scott uses the roasted peppers and some huacatay paste, along with queso fresco.  Huacatay is another Peruvian thing.  It is Peruvian black mint.  We started growing it around the same time we did the Aji Amarillo peppers.  Scott uses the food processor for all the stages of this sauce.  

We have used Aji Amarillo sauce as a dip and also over pasta.  I think pasta is the best way of enjoying it.  You have to realize though this has some kick to it.  Just ask our friend Jeremy.  He loves the stuff and he does not eat pasta often.  

I will update this soon with a more precise recipe.  Since this is Scott's recipe I will have to get him to tell me measurements the best that he can.  As usual, this sometimes is hard since we no longer measure for certain recipes. 

We have had 2 hurricanes come barreling through our area recently.  Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael.  Both we were lucky with no damage but to our pepper plants.  My prayers are there for all of you that have experienced the deadly forces of one or both.  Our prayers to all of you from the Cristina household.  I will not finish this post with my normal ending but I will finish with ... PRAYERS.