Chipotle mayo and tomato sauce

I don't know about where you are, but chipotle peppers have become very cool in a mainstream 'now-available-at-your-supermarket' sort of way. I've been reading about them for years in American books and was really excited to find them in the supermarket last year. I got the tin home, popped the lid off and shoved one in my mouth. Steam blew out of my ears for the next 30 minutes, which was about enough time to wonder why I'd neglected to realise that a dried and smoked jalapeño would be hotter than hell.

Since then I've been cautiously adding them to all sorts of things, but the best discovery so far is this one - chipotle mayonnaise. I made a huge vat of it to pour over homemade frites at the Small Girl's party. It took all my willpower not to just retire to my bed with a bowl of it and a spoon - and I actually took the leftovers to a work colleague because I just didn't trust myself with it.

Chipotle Mayonnaise
You might remember a post I did last year on how easy it is to make mayonnaise by hand. I stand by that claim, but if you're making a lot I think there's no shame in harnessing technology. No point in having that Magimix if it just collects dust, after all. I made double this amount for the party - the quantities below are more manageable unless you have a serious mayo habit (or a lot of friends).

2 free range egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small clove of garlic, crushed to a paste with 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp wine vinegar
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (plus a bit of the sauce)
3/4 cup oil (I use 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup canola)

Put everything except the oil in a food processor and whiz to combine. Put the oil in a little jug. Turn the processor on and let the oil dribble in, very, very slowly, then gradually increase the volume to a thin stream, until the mixture is thick and glossy. Stop the machine and taste - add a little more adobo sauce, salt, or vinegar to taste and pulse again to mix. Scrape into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Now, not everyone likes mayonnaise, so I put a jug of tomato sauce on the table too. This is even easier than the mayo - saute a bit of finely sliced garlic in a slosh of olive oil until it's golden, then tip in a few tins of tomatoes. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer away gently for an hour or so, until it's thick and your house smells delicious.