I should apologize now…

I’m sorry that my blog is about to be overrun by tomatoes.

I went a little over board at the farm this weekend when it came to picking tomatoes.  At the CSA, there is a green house almost fully devoted to tomatoes.  There are so many shapes, sizes, and colors that it resembles very closely to a kid being in a candy store.  Shortly after my visit to the farm, I went to visit my grandparents who also have a plethora of tomatoes plants and when asked if I needed tomatoes, I couldn’t say no.   I mean, my grandpa’s tomatoes are what childhood memories are made.

So what’s a girl to do with so many tomatoes?  Make ketchup!

I was extremely excited when I found the recipe from Jaime Oliver.  I have always avoided making ketchup because I figured I would have to peel and de-seed all of the tomatoes before I even started.  However with this recipe, everything is thrown into a pot and pushed through a sieve later.

With most things homemade, this ketchup doesn’t taste like Heinz but honestly, I think it taste better.  I reduced the sugar in the recipe by a little just because my ketchup came out a bit too sweet.

I think this will definitely go on my “homemade christmas gift list” this year!  Next up is making some bbq sauce with this ketchup!

Homemade Ketchup
 
Prep time

Cook time

Total time

 

Author:
Recipe type: odd and ends
Serves: 12-16

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2-3 large red onions, diced
  • 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger (or 1 tablespoon of ginger powder)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons cloves
  • a large pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup fresh basil
  • 1½ cups water
  • 2½ pounds of fresh tomatoes, roughly diced
  • ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar

Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, add olive oil and all the ingredients through cayenne pepper. Cook over medium low, stirring occasionally, until onions have softened.
  2. Stir in the water and tomatoes (I used an assortment of cherry, roma, and slicing tomatoes.) Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and continue to cook until the tomatoes half reduce by about half.
  3. Remove from heat, add the basil, and using either an immersion blender or a regular blender, pulse until mixture becomes smooth. Pass through a sieve twice and pour back into a clean pot.
  4. Add in red wine vinegar and brown sugar and simmer until the sauce reduces to a thicker version. Taste and add additional seasonings as needed.
  5. At this point the ketchup with keep in the refrigerator or can be canned.

Notes
This sauce will not be the consistency of Heinz ketchup. If you would like it thickened, combined a couple tablespoons of corn starch with just enough water to dissolve it. Add a little at a time to the sauce to thicken. Be careful to not add too much or the consistency will be more like jello…   ***Recipe adapted from Jaime Oliver

PS: M and I are both afraid of this squirrel.  He is way too friendly for comfort and moves too quickly for our liking…

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  • http://cookieandkate.com Cookie and Kate

    Yummm! I’m a total ketchup fiend—it’s a childhood obsession that I’ll never outgrow. I should totally try to make my own! Thanks for sharing a great recipe.

  • http://cookieandkate.com Cookie and Kate

    P.s. that squirrel looks like it’s up to no good!

  • Brittany

    That squirrel looks like pure evil, I would be careful if I were you…. :)

  • http://chocolateandcarrots.com Caroline @ chocolate and carrots

    Nothing wrong with an abundance of tomatoes! :-)

  • http://expatgourmet.wordpress.com Expat Gourmet

    I made my own ketchup some time ago, but used quite different ingredients. I’ll have to give yours a try one day to see how they’d compare. Yours must be a bit sharper, mine is very mellow.

    http://expatgourmet.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/a-week-of-toma…e-made-ketchup/

  • http://daily-relish.blogspot.com/ Sarah

    Looks yummy.. beautiful pictures to boot. I have never attempted this myself but just picked up some “tomato jam” from my honey’s Mom and wow, good stuff! :]

  • http://inkristaskitchen.blogspot.com Krista

    Awesome! I’ve been secretly hoping that this kind of ketchup recipe would show up on my radar.

  • http://www.pinchofyum.com Lindsay @ PinchofYum

    LOL about the squirrel. We have the same issue!

  • Katie

    I used to have an amazing recipe for ketchup that used tomatoes and apples… I was hoping that this would be it! I will try this one instead!

  • http://foodiecrush.com Heidi / foodiecrush

    I have a recipe for homemade ketchup that I am going to try. But it makes like 2 gallons! And from a #10 (?) can. But…I digress. This recipe would be tastee with chipotle added too. Yum. And I like the varmint, they’re nice!