Yemenite dynamite - ZHUG

We all know and love the good old Chimichurri and salsa verde and this is a herby hot sauce from Yemen which is spicier and more fragrant with the help from Middle Eastern spices. Goes amazingly well with any barbecued food or as a base in dressings, personally I love dipping some freshly baked bread straight in the bowl. This is also a great recipe for using up any herbs you may have knocking about in the back of your fridge. It’s best on the day it’s made but you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. As all chillies are different in heat taste them first as you may need to add/reduce the quantities but remember this is Yemeni dynamite so it should hold some heat.

Ingredients
3 cardamom pods
3 chillies
2 garlic cloves
50 grams coriander, stalks are great here
50 grams flat leaf parsley
30 grams dill
30 grams mint leaves
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin
1 tsb black pepper corns
150 ml olive oil
Salt

Method
Toast the whole spices in a pan until fragrant, transfer to a pestle and mortar or spice grinder and bash up/wizz. Add the herbs, spices, garlic and blitz to a paste, keep mixing and drizzle the olive oil until incorporated. Season to taste with lemon zest, juice and salt. If you don’t have a mixer of some sort you can finely slice all herbs and garlic to combine.