How to make Chilli Oil

Chilli Oil is one of our staples.  We use it as a base for our home made Pizza and of course for curries but it's also great to pep up a pasta or any dish where you fancy something a bit more spicy.  Our Italian friends will drizzle some onto bread or bruschetta (toast) or place a teaspoon of oil on a plate, sprinkle some grated parmesan over the top and then mop it up with some bread which takes a bit of bravery and a lot of toilet paper in the fridge just in case.
If you can read, the instructions are below or you can watch the video to find out how to make some cracking chilli oil which, like Jarvo, just gets better with age and more obnoxious.

As chillis become available from the plants, and you can use both red and green they are just as potent and make a nice colour variation, remove the tops and tails, split them lengthwise down the middle and chop into pieces.  If you have the patience you can leave the chillis whole and cut them into rings and try and remove seeds as you go.  For the chopping process you really should use gloves or going for a pee can be quite painful.  If you are a numpty like Jarvo, just chop them barehanded and then put gloves on to go for a pee and we don't mean boxing gloves although it's great for entertainment value if you do.   K is not to be found during this process and romance is definitely a no go area.
We put the pieces into a wooden tray and leave them in direct sunlight, about 24hours at the height of summer, until dry and crispy but not burnt.  You can dry them in the oven, about 30mins on a low to medium heat but keep a close eye on them and keep turning as they will cremate very easily.  When dry, place them a bowl, we use a glass Pyrex dish and cover with a generous amount of salt.

For the next 4 or 5 days keep turning the chillis over in the salt, every time you walk past is a good idea and even better when K is nearby as you can induce a sneezing fit of Tsunami proportions.  When the chillis have dried in the salt and K has finished washing your boxing gloves and wiped all the snot from the ceiling, sieve the chillis carefully to get rid of any rogue seeds and lumps of salt and then tip the chilli bits into a small glass jar and cover with olive oil.  Leave at least a centimetre of oil above the chilli bits although you can always top up with more oils as you use it.  Tap around the jar to dislodge any air bubbles and then seal tightly.  That's it done....piss easy wasn't it.  The oil ages beautifully, just like K and is better after a year but still good for use a bit sooner.  A half teaspoon is good for a bit of a nip but feel free to kick the arse out of it for a curry.