I’ve gone a little chilli crazy lately, especially since I have discovered the wonders of chipotle chillies, those smoke-dried jalepeños that give a peppery and smoky depth of flavour that is completely addictive!

So of course I jumped at the chance to try out the new range of chilli sauces from Wahaca, the award-winning Mexican restaurant group co-founded by Mark Selby and former BBC Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers.

 

The Wahaca sauces come in three flavours, each based on a different type of chilli, including my favourite chipotle:

Smoky Chipotles

Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapeño chillies and possibly one of the best-loved chillies of Mexico. The Smoky Chipotle sauce combines the addictive chipotle with earthy cumin and rich cocoa to make a mouth-watering marinade for steak and is also great on burgers.

Fruity Habanero

Habanero chillies are similar to the Scotch Bonnet and come from the Yucatan region. Their fruity flavour makes the chilli sauce an exciting addition to salad dressings or fantastic poured over sweet potato wedges before roasting for a zingy summer flavour.

Fiery Arbol

The chile de arbol is a small red chilli with a searing, delectable heat. Try coating chicken wings in the sauce with lime and coriander before grilling on the BBQ or stirring into fresh tomato salsas for an added kick.

 

Wahaca is all about the taste of Mexican street food, so the expansion of the restaurant business into sauces that can be bought and used at home makes perfect sense. On the ‘Sauces and Recipes‘ section of their website, there is a a great selection of inspirational recipes using these sauces.

 

I have been using them in everything! So far my favourite ways have been: the Smoky Chipotle sauce added to my own chilli casseroles, and on burgers and sausages; the Fruity Habanero sauce as a marinade for salmon and in guacamole; and the Fiery Arbol as a marinade for chicken. And I’m looking forward to lots more experimentation using them.

 

I’m not too keen on the fact that sugar is used in the sauces, but apart from that there is little I don’t love – all natural ingredients so that’s good. I think the packaging is fab with bright colours and Mexican Day of the Dead characters matching the vibrancy of the sauces inside. Much prettier than a bottle of ketchup, and much tastier too!

 

Disclaimer: I was sent these sauces free of charge to review, but no payment was received and all opinions are my own and honest.

Wahaca sauces are available in Morrisons, Asda, Tesco, Ocado and Waitrose stores nationwide, RRP £1.99.