Recipe, words & images by Alethea Mauro

I am known by friends to have a slight condiment obsession.

I believe food should be full of flavour and condiments are a perfect way to jazz up foods;  I  have been known to spoon mouthfuls of my favourite condiments straight from the jar!

So I guess it is no surprise that my favourite cultural food from Chile (my husband’s nationality) is yes, you guessed it a condiment!

Pebre is generally used on top of barbecued meats, however I love to add it to many, many things.  It’s great to dip crusty white bread in, added to your bowl of soup for a nice zing, delicious on taco’s, add to ceviche or prawn cocktail or slather it on a wrap; really the possibilities are endless.

This is my version which combines my favourite elements from my extended families recipes.

Ingredients:

6 shallots, roughly chopped

1 bunch of coriander, including stems – roughly chopped

1 medium lemon, squeezed

1 long green chilli

½ long red chilli

1 large tomato

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or vinegar of choice)

¼ cup water

2 tbsp. olive oil

Sea salt, ground

Method:

Now I cheat and place all ingredients into the food processor and whiz the mixture until it is a finely chopped but still a little bit chunky salsa – then add salt to taste.

However, if you don’t have access to a food processor, finely chop all the shallots, coriander, chilli, garlic and tomatoes and place in a medium bowl and stir in wet ingredients and salt to taste.

The Pebre is best after it has had some time for all the flavours to infuse in the fridge and can be stored in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week.

Pebre can be varied to suit your tastes by adding more or less chilli or by omitting the tomato.