Mette Nielsen
Bean Soup + Heat
Adding a kick to your regular recipes
Nancy and Al Bourbohakis, owner and chef of Pomlin Restaurant, Thunder Bay, never let beautiful produce go to waste. Where others see compost, they recognize possibility. Take the excess crates of local hot peppers their supplier delivered one hot August afternoon. The innovative couple put to use their knowledge of fermentation and their love of bold flavors to brew up batches of hot sauce for family and friends.
In 2015, thanks to glowing reviews and growing demand, they launched Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co. Using traditional methods, each of the 15 Heartbeat Hot Sauces are made mostly of fermented hot peppers (mostly habanero) and just a few extra high-quality ingredients. The sauces do not use any water, thickening agents or chemical preservatives of any kind. All the recipes are developed, cooked, bottled, packaged and distributed from the facility in Thunder Bay and several include ingredients from other local businesses.
Take Heartbeat’s Blueberry Habanero, brewed with Lake of the Woods Blueberry Ale. The Pineapple Habanero hot sauce includes Beaver Duck IPA from Sleeping Giant Brewery. In these two sauces, the balance of sweet heat, tang, with a slight edge of bitterness from the brew, gives a one-two-three punch. Just the thing to kick a creamy soup, chili or dressing to life. Whisk just a little into fruit jam (such as Wee Bee Jammin’s Toe Jam from Michigan), and you have a fabulous glaze for pork or chicken; or mix a drop or two into mayo for a wickedly delicious sandwich spread. It doesn’t take much to lift plain ingredients up a notch.
To give your next dish a kiss of heat, try adding a drop or two, going slowly, you don’t want to burn your tongue or overpower other ingredients.
For a zesty kick from Thunder Bay, I suggest trying the sauces on these often more mild dishes (to taste, of course):
• Scrambled eggs
• Tartar sauce
• Vinaigrettes
• Soups – especially black bean and chili
• Mayonnaise
• Cocktail sauce
• Mac & cheese
• Pulled pork
Then enjoy a bit of heat, no matter the season.
Bean Soup + Heat
This tastes even better a day or two after it’s made and
freezes beautifully.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage links cut into 1-inch circles
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, cut into coins then half moons
1 stalk celery, diced
1 shallot, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
7 to 8 c. chicken or vegetable stock or water
2 c. cooked or canned white beans, drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar, to taste
Several splashes Heartbeat Hot Sauce (your choice) to taste
Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and brown until cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.
Stir in the tomato paste, cooking until it begins to darken, about 1 minute. Add the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, carrots, celery, shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Stir in 7 cups of stock and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the beans, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and continue simmering adding more liquid if needed, about 20 minutes.
Add the sausage back into the pot and continue simmering for about 3 to 5 minutes, then taste and add a shot of vinegar and several shots of the hot sauce (tasting in between shots).
Adjust the seasonings before serving.
Sweet Heat Glaze for Chicken & Pork
Brush this over roast chicken just before pulling it from the oven or onto pork chops right before lifting them from the skillet.
Makes 1/4 cup
Ingredients:
1/4 c. berry jam (i.e. Wee Be Jammin’ Toe Jam in this case; Toe Jam features apples, peaches, cherries and strawberries)
1 to 2 drops Heartbeat Hot Sauce
Instructions:
Whisk the ingredients together in a small dish. Store in the refrigerator in a covered container.