The Root Cellar had a deal on flats of BC tomatoes this week so we grabbed a flat for $8.88 and used most of it to make a new batch of house ketchup (well, Mike made the ketchup but left me to can it). We figure it cost about $11 to make about 4L of very tasty, fresh ketchup.
The seasoning really makes the difference in this recipe by David Rosengarten which we initially found on the Food Network, years ago:
Onion slices from 2 large onions, 2/3″ thick
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon (1/4 pound) packed brown sugar
1 head garlic, cloves peeled
1/4 cup capers with their brine
1/4 cup hot sauce
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground oregano
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons ground cardamom
Salt to taste
3 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
2 12-ounce cans tomato paste
Place onion slices on grill. Grill until the slices are blackened on both sides, about 15 minutes per side.
In small black skillet toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds about 5 minutes, and then grind them in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
In saucepan combine the blackened onions, the toasted spices, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, capers, and hot sauce. Add the paprika, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, oregano, black pepper, cardamom, and salt to taste. Then add the whole tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer this mixture for 3 hours, stirring every 15 minutes to break up the tomatoes and to prevent sticking.
Puree some of the mixture in a blender and return to the pot. If the pureed ketchup seems too thin, continue cooking it until it’s reduced to a consistency you like.
This time, we did not use the tomato paste but instead used an equivalent amount of tomatoes plus a teaspoon of xantham gum at the end to thicken it; Mike also upped the sugar a bit (1 cup) to make it a bit closer to commercial ketchup flavour.