FOOD BABBLE: Every dish has a face, and other peri-hot insights

The letter "Every dish has a face, and other peri-hot insights" sparked a variety of responses from TGIFood readers regarding their own secret recipes for peri-peri or piri-piri sauce. Rae Earl, a resident of the Karoo, shared her homemade alternative to the expensive "Spillers Peri-Peri" sunflower oil. She found a simple, cost-effective recipe that uses canola or sunflower oil, fresh red chillies, and a couple of steps: drying the chillies in the sun or using a dehydrator, then mixing them with the oil and storing it for several weeks.

Inge Niklaus, of Hungarian descent, suggested a different approach by adding a touch of Hungarian paprika to her recipe. She recommended roasting a red bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and chillies until the skins blister, and then blending them with honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and Hungarian paprika or Erős Pista. This resulted in a sauce that she believed "gives every dish a face."

Eric Carter, on the other hand, offered a more straightforward method. He chopped an onion, sliced birdseye red chillies, and garlic, then coated them in olive oil. He allowed the mixture to sit for a few days to improve, and claimed it enhanced the flavor of their rugby braais (barbecues).