The only thing better than a good recipe? When something's so easy to make that you don't even need one. Welcome to It's That Simple, a column where we talk you through the process of making the dishes and drinks we can make with our eyes closed.

I'm going to start off with a huge claim: This spicy, bright Calabrian chile butter is the greatest secret-weapon condiment that ever lived. It’s got big flavor but a small ingredient count—a winning combination in my book.

Now I know that compound butters have a bad rap—and frankly, I think that most of the time, they deserve it. I’m not interested in busting out 12 different ingredients just to put them in butter—I’ll leave that to the steakhouses. But while this chile butter may be, in its heart of hearts, a compound butter, we definitely won’t be calling it that. Because excluding the butter and the salt, it relies on just three ingredients and comes together in five minutes.

And we have jarred Calabrian chiles to thank. Funky, intensely spicy, and bright, they bring big flavor to whatever they touch, which is why they are the perfect counterpart to sweet, creamy butter.

To make it, throw 1 cup (2 sticks) room-temperature unsalted butter and ¼ cup chopped jarred Calabrian chiles into a food processor. Use a Microplane to grate in zest of ½ lemon and 1 garlic clove. Season with kosher salt and pulse until mixture is bright orange and mostly smooth (some visible flecks of chile are fine!).

Just like that, you’ve got yourself a balanced-but-bold condiment you can slather on almost anything. For a no-brainer appetizer, spread it on fat slices of toast and top with high-quality tinned sardines. Toss some into a pan of roasted vegetables (we’re partial to crispy potatoes) or dollop a spoonful onto a thick steak or pork chop while the meat rests, or onto a hot roasted or steamed sweet potato. Spread the butter over a chicken before you roast it, mix it into polenta or a pantry pasta, or use it to make an off-the-charts garlic bread.

Sounds like a lot of ideas, but don't worry! The chile butter keeps forever in the fridge, so you’ll have plenty of time to experiment.