Joey's Salsa!

Well here it is, the salsa I have made for years and bring to most family gatherings which always goes down a treat. I always find it a good idea to taste a tiny bit of Chilli before I start so I know how hot they are and can then judge how many I want to put into the salsa.

Ingredients:
1 medium red onion
2 tomatoes
1 red pepper
4-5 red chillies
black pepper
salt
olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Pierce the pepper and chillies with a knife and place under a hot grill. Blacken them on all sides - yes this means burnt so don't keep turning them just burn one side and turn over to the next. Once they are all blackened remove them and place them in a bowl with some cling film over to allow them to sweat and cool down. This makes it easier to remove the skin later.

Chop the onion and the tomatoes very finely and place in a bowl.

Once the chillies and pepper have cooled remove the skins and seeds and chop finely. Add these to the bowl.

Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle in the sugar.

Squeeze in the juice of the lemon and drizzle with olive oil.

Mix it all well and taste.

Extra chilli can be added if necessary or extra tomato will help cool it down if too spicy.
Works great just on crusty bread or with fajitas etc. This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days but will be very strong smelling so be sure to keep it in a good airtight container.

Piri Piri toasted sandwich

There will be a lot of sandwiches appearing here over time because when all else fails you can go back to sandwiches! I am not a huge fan of what I call 'designer sandwiches' but I do like lots of flavour and more often than not a hint of chilli. This one is a typical Joey sandwich and the relish I use is quite hot but can be substitued with something like a red pepper relish, it still has the flavour but not so much heat.

Toasted Ham, cheese and piri piri relish:

2 slices of bread
butter (optional)
Sliced ham
Cheddar cheese
Piri piri relish
Black pepper and or chilli flakes
Mayonnaise (to serve)

Butter both slices of bread. Taking one slice put ham on first followed by the relish and finally the cheese. Grind black pepper and or chilli flakes on top of cheese.
Important part: place this under the grill open to allow the cheese to melt slightly before placing the second slice of bread on top - There is nothing worse than getting a toasted sandwich with cold cheese in the middle!
Toast the sandwich on both sides and serve with a generous spoonful of mayonnaise.
Simple but satisfying!