- Rub some vegetable oil into your fingers before chopping chilli peppers to avoid stinging or burning feelings (or just wear gloves!).

- To keep the chilli flavour but reduce the spicy heat, slice the chilli from top to bottom then scoop out and discard the white-ish membrane and the seeds.

- To rescue food which is too spicy, try adding natural yoghurt, mayonnaise or sugar to your dish.

- Don’t drink water to cool your mouth when you take a bite of something too spicy – try milky drinks instead.

-  As a general rule, smaller chillis are hotter than larger ones.

- You can keep dried chillis for around a year if kept in an air-tight box.

-  If you’re unsure how much chilli you should put in a recipe then add it in small amounts until you get the taste you want – remember it’s easier to add more than to take it away.

- Add finely chopped chilli to steamed vegetables for a spicy change.

Not only is tomato salsa easy to make but you can use it in so many ways: as a dip for potato wedges, a relish for burgers or stir it into a boring pasta sauce to give it a kick. I like to dollop it in chicken fajitas.

When buying a pre-made salsa from a shop you can never be sure what you’re getting. Salsa varies from the mild, fruity versions to the incredibly spicy, garlicy versions. It can swim in a liquidy sauce or just be a tomato pulp – when making your own salsa it really is up to you.

This recipe is a tangy, spicy and saucey variety but you can alter the ingredients to match your taste.

Ingredients

4 ripe tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1 large green chilli
1/2 a red onion
1/2 a lime (optional)
a handful of coriander leaves
a small squirt of passata (sieved tomatoes)
a drop of olive oil

Method

Finely chop the tomatoes, garlic, chilli, onion and coriander leaves. You can de-seed the chilli if you want to tone down the spice but I’ve left them in for this recipe.

Put the ingredients into a bowl and add a dribble of olive oil and squeeze the lime all over.

Now add the passata. Do this slowly and carefully so you can get the consistency you want. Leftover passata can be used to make a pasta sauce.

Alternatively, you could substitute the fresh tomatoes and passata for a tin of chopped tomatoes which should contain all the juice you need to make the sauce.

No cooking or warming required – just stir, serve and enjoy!

If you make more than you need place the leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.