Easy-peasy homemade ketchup

  • Friday, July 22, 2011 12:01am
  • Life

Whether or not you use much ketchup as a condiment at your house (we have a grandson that’s convinced everything in the world, except possibly desserts, and we’re not taking any bets on that, is vastly improved by a good dose), you still probably use a good bit, especially this time of the year, for

marinades, barbecue sauces, dips, dunks and dressings.

So you grab the ketchup, are all set to whip up some whatever, and notice, whoa and woe, there’s not much left in the bottle. Upended and drained to the last drop, you’re still short. Way short. What’s worse, there appears to be no more awaiting your culinary whim in the cupboard or pantry, either.

What then? Most standard homemade ketchup recipes call for x-many, fully ripened pounds of tomatoes, and you have none, nada, zip, let alone the time it would take for the boiling-water tomato dip, then peel, core, chop and…

Here’s what, then, and all you need is a standing-by stock of the necessary ingredients to make a good-size amount that’s also way faster than a from-scratch traditional batch and easy-peasy besides.

This recipe comes to us courtesy of the folks at Krups, makers of many home appliances, most notably in today’s case, a new immersion blender, and it goes like this:

Homemade ketchup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 can (28 ounces) tomato puree

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent. Add in the garlic and stir together. Add the tomato puree, brown sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, salt, mustard, cloves, allspice, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally (be careful not to let it scorch), until it is thick like ketchup.

Remove pan from heat and, using an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender, puree the mixture until smooth.

Adjust seasonings, if needed, and pour ketchup into a container. Cool completely and seal. Can be refrigerated for up to 1 month.

The next Forum will appear in Monday’s Good Life section.

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