Volcano Chilli's very own BBQ Lava Relish

I love chillis. I love them when they're eensy teensy seedlings needing all the love and care I can give them. I love them when they nestle enticingly amongst the foliage in my polytunnel, each little chilli like a firework waiting to explode. I love the baskets of hundreds of thousands of chillis that you find in market stalls in South East Asia when they are piled up like an art exhibit put there purely for the pleasure of being seen. But most of all I love eating them. And this is where Volcano Chilli comes in...... Chris tends to hide his light under a bushel and reviews other people's stuff with unbounding generosity, but in the background he's beavering away creating beautiful sauces and relishes just like this one.

Now, you may accuse me of bias, seeing as he asks me to review stuff, and it would seem ungracious to not be entirely complimentary. However, I'm truer to the cause of good food than that, and I always aim to be objective and honest. I would honestly say that something was wrong or whatever if I needed to. Thankfully it hasn't happened yet, and the BBQ Lava relish is no exception.

I opened this with a view of being strict but fair, but within one nacho dipping I was hooked. The relish is subtly smoky, very tomatoey (made up word) on account of it being made with sundried tomatoes which gives it an intensity of flavour that fresh tomatoes wouldn't, and has a slow heat which doesn't blow your mind or your mouth, but leaves a definitely positive warm glow. I shared it (much to my chagrin) with my friend Bertie from Click Creations no mean chilli eater herself, and what can I say except that this happened within the course of an evening.


We ate it as a dip, but the following morning I spread a nice layer on my bacon sarnie which really perked it up (don't you think a day is too dull without chilli in it?) and a big fat spoonful went into my famous sausage casserole which I am sure is not what it's intended for, but as an all round taste and heat provider, BBQ Lava does the business.