smokey jalapeño tomato ketchup

Is it taking it too far to make ketchup from scratch?

Mm I think not!

To be honest, I have never owned (nor particularly enjoyed) store-bought ketchup. Sure I’ve had the ol’ squirt of Watties on my fish n’ chips on the black sands of Taranaki (am I Kiwi or what??) but I have always been fortunate enough to have homemade tomato sauce available. My mum makes a killer barbeque-style one that was always on the dinner table, to dollop on our schnitzel. And our self-sustainable farming friends continuously treated us to homemade sauces, from tamarillo to spicy red chili.

So without a ‘mum’ or a ‘Williams family’ here we have to make it ourselves. Or rather, I subtly encourage Jesse to make it for us.

You see, we had this glut of jalapeños (thanks to the local greenhouse!), and jalapeños are totally Jesse’s ‘thing’. A mere suggestion of a smokey jalapeño ketchup and that evening we enjoyed sweet, spicy ketchup on our baked potato chips.

Smokey Jalapeño Tomato Ketchup
Makes 1 large jar
Recipe adapted from frolic

Slow roasting the tomatoes and jalapeño’s first is highly recommended. Doing so brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. In fact, slow roast twice more than you need, cherry tomatoes and all. You will be munching on them by the handful, or tossing them through a light summer pasta. For those heading into summer at this time of year..

750g fresh tomatoes (about 8 large. Alternatively, use cherry tomatoes)

1 onion
3 cloves garlic
2 jalapeño peppers
2 T. canola oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
scant ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
scant ¼ cup red wine vinegar
1/2 T. brown sugar
1 tsp smokey paprika

Preheat oven to 300˚F.  Halve the tomatoes (or quarter if large) and place them on a baking sheet.  Peel and quarter the onion and place on another baking sheet.  Slice the jalapeño peppers in half and discard the seeds and stem.  Place on baking sheet with the onion and peeled garlic cloves.  Drizzle canola oil over both baking sheets and season with salt and pepper.  Lightly toss vegetables with your hands to make sure they are all coated and seasoned.  Place both baking sheets in the oven and roast for 1 hour and a half.

Pour the roasted lot into a large pot.  Add vinegars and sugar.

Add the smokey paprika and pepper to the stock pot. Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until completely smooth.  Return to the stock pot, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and let simmer, uncovered, for an hour or so until thick.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you like a chunkier ketchup, let it cool at this point.  If you want a smooth, more traditional ketchup, force ketchup through either a food mill or a sieve, until there is a only a small amount of a tomato paste and seeds left. Discard this.  Can as desired or transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator.

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