Ixta Belfrage's secret ingredient: dried habanero peppers

The smell of habanero peppers is amazing. It's kind of warm fruity with a hint of smoke. It's almost impossible to put into words. They are native to the Amazon, but most people consider them Mexican because that is the cuisine in which they are most used. I use dried because you can't find fresh in the UK.

Dried habanero peppers can be added to sauces, stews or broths. I add them to the brown butter. I sometimes grate one with a microplane on a dish at the end - for example, a fish crudo or a ceviche. You can also do it with pasta, or even desserts - creams or flans.

It's a very spicy pepper, there are no two ways to do so, but you can choose whether you want to exploit the flavor or the spice. It has the ability to be as spicy as you want it to be. The longer you leave them in a sauce or stew, the more permeable the skin becomes, and that's where you'll get the heat that's in the seeds and pith. If you leave the chili whole for a bit, you will only get the flavor and the subtle heat. If you leave it for a long time and crush it, there will obviously be more heat. Taste as you go.

Ixta Belfrage is the author of Mezcla: Recipes to Excite (Ebury, £26)