The market · Chillies and peppers · West Africa, The Americas
Scotch bonnets
A very hot, very fruity chilli — ata rodo in Yoruba.
fruity · fierce
What to do with it
NigerianJollof riceRice cooked in a fried-down base of tomato, pepper and scotch bonnet, until each grain is red and separate.1 version here
NigerianAkaraFritters of peeled black-eyed beans, ground with onion and pepper, whipped light and deep-fried until golden.No one here has made it yetNigerianMoi moiA steamed pudding of peeled black-eyed beans blended with red pepper, onion and oil, set soft in leaves or tins.No one here has made it yetNigerianAmalaA smooth, brown swallow of yam flour stirred into boiling water, eaten with ewedu, a slippery soup of jute leaves, and gbegiri, a bean soup.No one here has made it yetNigerianMiyan kukaA dark green, gently slippery soup of powdered dried baobab leaves, with meat or dried fish and daddawa, eaten with tuwo.No one here has made it yetNigerianEdikang ikongA rich soup of fluted pumpkin leaves and waterleaf cooked almost in their own juices, with meat, stockfish, periwinkles and palm oil.No one here has made it yetNigerianBoleRipe plantain, and often yam, roasted over coals until charred, served with grilled fish and a hot palm-oil pepper sauce.No one here has made it yetJamaicanJerk chickenChicken steeped in a hot, fragrant paste of scotch bonnet, allspice, spring onion and thyme, then smoked slowly over pimento wood.No one here has made it yetJamaicanAckee and saltfishSoft, buttery ackee fruit sautéed with flaked salt cod, onion, tomato, peppers and scotch bonnet — Jamaica's national dish.No one here has made it yetJamaicanCurry goatGoat on the bone, seasoned overnight and stewed slowly with Jamaican curry powder, allspice, thyme and scotch bonnet.No one here has made it yetJamaicanEscovitch fishWhole fried fish drenched in hot, peppery vinegar with onion, carrot, sweet pepper and scotch bonnet.No one here has made it yetJamaicanJamaican beef pattyA half-moon of flaky, turmeric-yellow pastry filled with spiced, peppery minced beef.No one here has made it yetJamaicanJamaican pepper shrimpFreshwater shrimp boiled in their shells with scotch bonnet, garlic and allspice until red and fiercely hot.No one here has made it yetJamaicanRundownSalted or fresh mackerel simmered in coconut milk cooked down until it thickens, with tomato, onion, thyme and scotch bonnet.No one here has made it yetIf you can't find it
Caribbean and African grocers.
- 1HabaneroThe same — near enough identicalYou lose very little.
Goes with
Cooked with, here
How much, here
0.3–0.3% of the dish by weight — a place to start.
What cooks here have learned
“Five chillies out, one scotch bonnet in”Knowing it
- Where to buy
- African and Caribbean grocers.
- A little history
- Named for its squat shape, said to look like a Scottish tam o' shanter bonnet. The same species as the habanero.
- Worth knowing
- Put it in whole to perfume the pot; split it only if you want the heat.
Kitchens that keep it in
Nigeria, West AfricaNigerianBig flavours from a big country: tomato and pepper bases, smoke, groundnut and the scotch bonnet — and party food at a scale all of its own.11 classics · 2 cooked hereJamaica — the Greater Antilles, in the western Caribbean south of CubaJamaicanScotch bonnet heat and allspice warmth, meat smoked slowly over pimento wood, and coconut, thyme and spring onion in nearly everything.10 classics
More chillies and peppers, in season with it
last weeksChillies and peppersGreen chilliesgrassy, brighthotIn Sambal ijo · 40 classicsChillies and peppersGuindilla chilliesmild, fruityhotIn Pil pil · 1 classic
at its peakChillies and peppersPiquillo pepperssweet, smoky, fruityNot cooked here yet
last weeksChillies and peppersRed pepperssweetIn Jollof, party style · 18 classics