Makes 2 cups
PREP TIME
10 minutes
COOKING TIME
20 minutes
TOTAL TIME
30 minutes
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 bird’s-eye chiles, minced and seeded
1 habanero pepper, minced and seeded
3 plum tomatoes, diced (1½ cups)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
juice and finely grated zest of 2 oranges (¾ cup juice, 1 tablespoon zest)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
This sauce only requires 30 minutes of your time, but you want to give it your full attention. For the flavors to blend and emulsify, you need to add each ingredient slowly and give it a full 10 minutes of whisking toward the end. It’ll keep in your fridge for five days, and you’ll use it on everything.
In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, ginger, and bird’s-eye and habanero chiles and slowly cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste and continue to cook until tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the orange juice and zest. Lower the heat and simmer the sauce until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Drizzle in the remaining oil while whisking constantly to form a creamy sauce. Set aside to cool, then store in an airtight nonreactive container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.