I love rhubarb and I’m always looking for new and fermented ways to capture its fleeting season, and this hot sauce is fantastic. Customisable as long as you stick to the salt percentages and remember to keep the brine. Perfect in dressings, marinades or to kick-start your next batch of hot sauce.

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400g rhubarb,  nely chopped

100g mixed chilli peppers, destalked and halved (try a mixture of scotch bonnets for heat plus milder chillies)

50g shallots, roughly chopped

20g ginger, thinly sliced

10g garlic, smashed

3-4 thyme sprigs

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Put a jar on a kitchen scale and set it to zero. Drop in all the ingredients then ll with water, ensuring that everything is submerged. Note the total weight of the ingredients then calculate 3% of the weight – this will be the amount of salt you need to add.

Add the salt and mix well, close the jar with the lid slightly open and leave it to ferment at room temperature for seven to 10 days – if you tighten the jar’s lid, remember to burp the jar during the rst few days. Once the fermentation starts to slow down (less bubbles), start tasting the fermented rhubarb.

Once you’re happy with the ˆavour, strain the ingredients (keeping the brine) and blitz in a food processor or blender. You may prefer it in a chunkier form, so take your time tasting it, adjusting it with the reserved brine to loosen the hot sauce. Keep in the fridge for long-term storage.