This is the only recipe that I memorized from my days working in the Asian inspired kitchen at Epic. I made it often, not as often as our wonderful chili oil but often. This spicy and garlicky condiment is delicious on its own or in recipes for an extra kick. So delicious spooned into the bottom of a bowl of noodle soup. Not for the faint of heart. I use it on pretty much everything from poached chicken and spaghetti to eggs and tomato sandwiches. I like it hot and what better way to use the fresno peppers and garlic coming from my garden?
Ok, I'm not going to lie. This is one of those where I don't know exact amounts, I only know the ingredients and exact proportions. The yield will depend on how many peppers you start with. You must do it by weight so a kitchen scale is necessary. The proportion is 100:10:5 peppers:garlic:salt. I recommend you weigh in grams for easier division. So say you have 1000 g peppers, add to it 100 g of garlic and 50 g of salt.
Fresno Paste
Ingredients (makes about a pound of paste)
500 g fresh Fresno peppers, destemmed and roughly chopped
50 g fresh garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
25 g kosher salt
Directions
Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until everything is well combined and finely chopped. Don't go too fine. It's nice to have it a little chunky to give you the option to further process to an actual paste or as a hot sauce later but I suggest you leave it a bit chunky.
Transfer to a clean glass bowl with a cover. Cover loosely with the cover or drape over some cheesecloth over the top. Leave in a dark undisturbed location for about 3 days to let it start naturally fermenting. Then place on lid tightly and store in your refrigerator. It should smell slightly vinegary, fruity and spicy. If it looks or smells funky don't use and start again.
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