Most people think about chillies in terms of heat and their capacity to blow one's head off. I think about how they can delicately pep up a pile of silky aubergines, perhaps already spiced with cardamom, cinnamon and faint dusting of cumin; how dark, tobacco-flavoured chillies can add deep mysterious tones to molten chocolate, how smoky chillies can add body to slow-cooked, unctuous stews, and how smoked, sweet peppers can add a note of earthiness to eggs, grilled flatbreads and sauteed greens. - Thomasina Miers



Chillies can add excitement to the simplest, most frugal ingredients. Chilli Notes is full of recipes that excite and tantalise, comfort and warm. Forget food that will simply leave you gasping for air - this book aims to seduce the reader with the power of this humble fruit, even those who profess to loathe its long slow burn. Chilli Notes is packed with dishes that you can pull together on a weekday night with ingredients you have lying around. Without long lists of exotic ingredients to stand in your way, Chilli Notes will show you how the chilli can be your exotic bedfellow to add a wonderful, unusual note to your home-cooked family food.