Scotch bonnet

Scotch Bonnet is a variety of chili pepper found mainly in the Caribbean islands. It is named for its resemblance to a Tam o'shanter hat. Most Scotch Bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville Units. For comparison, most jalapeño peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale.

Here we have 3 examples of Uncle Steve's 2011 harvest of Scotch bonnets. Grown in his greenhouse, a little Caribbean heat comes to Yorkshire.  After all that heavy festive food I was eager to have something clean and light. Here's what I did with them:

Chili chicken and lemongrass stir-fry noodles
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Cost per person : Approx £2

Ingredients
3 nests of dried egg noodles, oil for cooking, 1 onion, 1 chili (sliced into rounds), 2 cloves of garlic, 20g lemongrass paste, 300g chicken (sliced into small strips), 1 sliced red pepper, 1 carrot (cut into matchsticks), broccoli (cut into small florets), 200g  of pak choi, 1 tbsp soy sauce.
Method

• Cook the noodles as per instructions
• Meanwhile heat some oil in a wok and fry the ovens for 3 or 4 minutes. Then add chili, garlic and lemongrass and stir fry for a minute.
• Add the chicken and cook for around 5-6 minutes until browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside in oven to keep warm while you prepare the vegetables.
• Add a little more oil to the wok and then stir fry the broccoli, pepper and carrot sticks for 5 minutes. Lastly add the pak choi and cook until the pak choi is wilted.
• Return the chicken to the wok along with the cooked egg noodles. Add the soy sauce.
• Serve straight away.