Skip to main content

Getting Sauced: Homemade Vanilla Bean Ketchup {October #Unprocessed}



I once read that cooking with a new ingredient or making something you've never made before is a good exercise for your brain. Makes sense. I've taken that to heart! So, when I saw the gorgeous tomatoes in my CSA box this afternoon, I had a flash of inspiration: I've never made homemade ketchup. It'd be a perfect way to challenge my brain and make an unprocessed condiment. Though I buy organic ketchup made without high fructose corn syrup, and I know that I could make ketchup, I never have. Tonight I changed that.

There seem to be a myriad of homemade ketchup recipes. Joy the Baker's Curry Ketchup, Date Ketchup from MarocMama, and a Blackberry Ketchup from a chef in North Carolina all caught my eye. The formulae seemed very similar: tomatoes + sweetener + seasoning. So I decided to forge ahead on my own with combination of herbs and spices. And, being that I'm a little starstruck with vanilla at the moment, I added some of that!

15-20 medium sized tomatoes
1 T crushed garlic
5 T white balsamic vinegar
5 T blue agave
ground cloves
ground cinnamon
ground cardamom
ground mustard
ground paprika
one vanilla bean, split down the middle and separated into caviar + pod
splash of pure vanilla extract
freshly ground sea salt

You have skin the tomatoes which is sort of like trying to deseed a strawberry...unless you do these two easy steps first. Bring water to a boil and submerge your tomatoes - whole - into the water. Let sit for two minutes.


Quickly plunge the tomatoes into ice water. They can sit in there for as long as you like.


Now you can score the skin and easily peel the skin off! Piece of cake.


Cube your tomatoes and place them in a saucepan with a splash of olive oil. Once they begin to soften, use a potato masher to create a chunky sauce. Note: I like my sauces chunky - and I don't mind seeds - so I didn't pass this through a sieve. You could do that at this point, if you want a smooth ketchup. Add in all of the ingredients except the vinegar, agave, and salt and continue to simmer until the ketchup thickens. Add in the vinegar and agave and cook until it's the consistency that you want. Season with salt to taste.

Water process as you would with jam to seal your jars.

I can't wait to try this tomorrow with some barbequed lamb sausages.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce

Aloo Tiki {Pakistan}

To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an