Proper tomato ketchup

This delicious recipe from Clippy McKenna’s new book 500 Jams & Preserves is a great way to use up your tomato bounty.

It’s just 1 of 500 scumptious treats in her fabulous compendium which features recipes for traditional and natural preserving, as well as providing inspiration for the more daring preservers. The recipes cover techniques for perfecting chutneys, jellies, jams, pickles, relishes, curds, sauces, cordials and liqueurs – there is definitely a conserve here for every taste.

The book follows the same format as others in the 500 series, providing variations for each recipe. It’s a great little book, either for a gift or for yourself.

Extracted with permission from 500 Jams and Preserves: The only compendium of preserves you’ll ever need, by Clippy McKenna, published in New Zealand by New Holland, $24.99.

Proper tomato ketchup

The king of all ketchups is the Tomato; this is a handy recipe for using up a glut of tomatoes. This tomato ketchup is perfect dunked into homemade fries with a sprinkle of salt & vinegar.

1kg (2 lbs 4 oz) ripe tomatoes
pinch smoked flaked salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp mustard powder
½ tsp celery salt
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 clove organic garlic, finely chopped
2 whole bay leaves
125g (4½ oz) light brown muscovado sugar
6 tbsp red wine vinegar

Halve the tomatoes and place them on a wire rack; sprinkle with the salt, pepper, spices, and garlic. Set aside for 15 minutes. Place the rack over a baking tray to collect all the juices and place in a 175°C (350°F) oven for 1–2 hours — depending on how juicy they are. Check the tomatoes to make sure they haven’t dried out too much — they will reduce but should still remain plump. Once you get to this stage, let them cool for about 20–30 minutes.

Rub the tomatoes through a nylon sieve (do not use stainless steel because this changes the colour and taste of the finished ketchup). Transfer the purée to a clean pan and add the sugar and vinegar; bring to a boil. Simmer until you a get a thick consistency; add the seasoning. If you feel it needs more sugar or vinegar, taste and adjust accordingly. Pour the ketchup into sterilized bottles with screw caps/lids. Use within 1 month.

Makes 450g (1 lb)

Variations

Spicy Tomato Ketchup
Add several dried chilies when roasting the tomatoes; retain and add back to the purée and discard before potting.

Bloody Mary Ketchup
Add a glug of vodka in the final cook.

Yellow Tomato Ketchup
Simply replace the fresh tomatoes with an equal quantity of yellow cherry tomatoes or yellow heirloom tomatoes.