If you have never tried the Middle Eastern condiment Shatta Sauce, now is the time to try it for a delicious taste sensation!
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Middle Eastern cuisine brings us exotic flavors and plenty of spice, as evident in this recipe for shatta sauce. I’m used to savory and spicy condiments from the Middle East, having grown up enjoying them alongside poultry, beef, and lamb dishes. They are often on the lunch table with hummus and pita bread.
However, shatta is one I never knew by name or taste. I have learned that this dish has as many recipes as people who make it. Some use a list of ingredients a mile long, incorporating lots of fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro. I avoid using cilantro in my cooking because someone in my family has the cilantro gene. If you don’t know, cilantro tastes like soap to those with the gene. While I don’t have that gene, I’ve never liked cilantro’s taste. Yet, I do enjoy using coriander in my cooking – and coriander is actually the seed of the cilantro plant. Go figure.
What Is The Best Type Of Green Chilies To Use?
When making chili sauce, the first decision is what peppers to use. Jalapeños can be green or red, with both types often used to make shatta sauce – but separately and never mixed together. Pick only all red or all green chilies, not both, or you will end up with a mottled sauce. Red jalapeños ripen on the vine, resulting in a higher heat level, while green ones are immature when picked and not as spicy.
You can also use serrano, Aleppo, and cayenne peppers in this Middle Eastern hot sauce recipe. If you want to balance the spicy level with a hint of sweetness, add a red bell pepper if using red jalapeños or a green bell pepper when using green jalapeños.
Is Shatta Sauce Healthy?
Shatta sauce is a healthy condiment made with peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Thanks to their abundance of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, the ingredients have many immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory properties. Olive oil is one of the best heart-healthy fats you can consume. Meanwhile, the capsaicin in chilies supposedly helps block pain signals from our nerves.
What Is The Benefit Of Using A Mortar And Pestle?
With all our modern conveniences, why should anyone spend time using a mortar and pestle? The answer is simple—you can’t get the same flavor from a food processor as you can from a mortar and pestle. Blades cut your herbs, spices, and nuts. Crushing and grinding them by hand releases their essential oils in a way nothing else can.
Another reason is that you have better control over the consistency when working by hand than when pulsing with your blender. Working with small quantities of ingredients in many grinders is also challenging. Leave your fancy gadgets for other jobs and whip out your mortar and pestle when you have a small job that yearns for big flavor.
INGREDIENTS
- 5 large fresh green chilies, chopped with seeds
- 4-5 medium garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (non-iodized) (or more to taste)
INSTRUCTIONS
Pound
Combine chilies and salt, pound to paste.
Mix
Add garlic and continue to pound, then mix in lemon juice and oil.
Serve
Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy.
Devour!
FAQs & Tips
You can prepare shatta sauce in advance, keeping in mind that it will stay fresh for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Store it in an airtight container and stir it whenever you want to use it.
Iodized salt often contains caking agents and other additives that can affect the taste of the food. It may impart a slightly metallic taste that you don’t get from kosher or sea salt—the two better options for use in this recipe.
It is often advised to wear gloves when working with chilies to avoid spreading the heat from the seeds to the eyes, nose, mouth, or other surfaces. If that is a concern for you, I recommend wearing gloves. This recipe keeps the seeds as you chop the peppers with them rather than seeding them. That could increase the risk of touching the seeds and causing a mild burning sensation to the skin.
Serving Suggestions
Shatta sauce goes well with bowls of other Middle Eastern dips and foods, such as Creamy Baba Ghanoush, Toum, Tabbouleh, and Grilled Herb Hummus Chicken Kebabs. Serve it with pita slices, chips, and raw veggies. Enjoy it with any meal you want to spice up a bit.
Shatta Sauce
Ingredients
- 5 large fresh green chilies chopped with seeds
- 4-5 medium garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (non-iodized) (or more to taste)
Instructions
-
Combine chilies and salt in a mortar and pestle, and pound until a chunky paste forms.
-
Add the garlic cloves and continue pounding until fully incorporated. Alternatively, use a food processor to pulse the chilies, salt, and garlic until a chunky paste is achieved.
-
Transfer the paste to a bowl, then stir in the fresh lemon juice and olive oil until well blended. Serve as desired.
Nutrition
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