A few interesting facts about tomato sauce AKA tomato ketchup ....

(This little cupboard is definitely full!)

Call it what you will it had concentrated fluid texture with a salty, sour and sometimes sweet taste.

Mushroom ketchup predates the tomato variety and was popular in Britain in the 1800s

The word 'ketchup' comes from the Chinese 'ketsiap' meaning a fermented fish sauce. In Malay the word 'kicap' means soy sauce. It's thought that the word was brought to Europe by Dutch traders.

Ketchup, America's national condiment, was first produced commercially during the 1830s.

In 1876, Heinz tomato ketchup was advertised as a "Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household". Hmm I ask you!

I have posted some twists on this age-old condiment and some other delish sticky condiments! (Just enter a search term in the Search Tool near the top right of this blog to find the recipes)

• Basic yummy tomato sauce
• Basic BBQ
• Lemony BBQ
• Worcestershire
• Peach + plum BBQ
• XO mushroom sauce
• Plum BBQ
• Chinese five spice plum sauce
• Peach and chili chutney
• Green tomato and apple chutney
• and not forgetting Christmasy Gastrique 

Simply Tomato Sauce

This is Matt Preston’s recipe, thank you Matt it’s simply yum!

 

Ingredients

2.5kg ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped 

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

10 whole cloves

10 whole allspice berries

1 Tbsp sweet paprika

1 clove garlic, sliced

1/2 cinnamon stick

2 Tbsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups (clear) white malt vinegar or cider vinegar

Method

Place tomato, onion, cloves, berries, paprika, garlic, cinnamon and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until the tomato breaks down and is tender.

Add the sugar and vinegar. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for a further hour or so until mixture reduces, thickens and is of a saucy consistency. Adjust seasoning.

Strain mixture through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, in batches, pressing down strongly to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Pour hot mixture into sterilised bottles. Seal. Store in a cool, dark place until ready to use. Once opened, store in the fridge.

Chook’s note:  rather than strain it, I simply blitzed it (after removing the cinnamon stick and allspice berries rather than straining it), I was feeling lazy.

Lemony BBQ sauce

This is burst-in-your-mouth tangy and is so quick and simple.  Use it to marinate pork ribs or chicken or whatever you fancy. Or simply serve is as a condiment with BBQed meat or vegge. Lindsay is jealously guarding it and won’t let me give any away but .....

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp grated ginger

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander seeds

1 Tbsp sweet paprika

½-1 tsp chilli powder (I use ½ tsp hot paprika)

½ lemon including the peel finely chopped

2 Tbsp cider or white wine vinegar

¼ cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp mustard powder

400 gm crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Method

Heat oil in large heavy-based pan over low heat and fry onion until soft. Add the ginger, cumin, coriander, paprika and ‘chilli’ and fry gently for 5 mins or until fragrant – be very careful not to burn the spices.

Add all the other ingredients and simmer gently for a further 15 mins, stirrng occasionally. Slightly longer cooking will produce a richer sauce but watch that the pan doesn’t dry out; if it’s looking a bit dry add a Tbsp or 2 of water. 

Bottle and seal. Enjoy!

Chook’s note: here’s when those little packets of minced ginger and citrus juice you have cunningly squirrelled away in the freezer come in handy. I always have a selection – different citrus zests and leaves, lemongrass, ginger (which I use a lot), garlic cloves, even grated turmeric root when I get a hold of it.  Those and tomatoes are terrific items to have on hand.

Basic BBQ sauce

This is a quick and simple sauce to prepare.

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1 onion diced

250ml sherry vinegar

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp cinnamon

3 tsp salt

1 whole star anise

1-2 Tbsp smoked paprika

2 Tbsp tomato paste

200g tinned tomatoes

Pinch of chilli or hot paprika (optional)

Method

The original recipe says to add all ingredients to a pot and simmer ½ hour. Next time I’d sauté the onions and spices in a little oil to release the flavours and then add the rest of the ingredients before simmering. If you do this, try using bruised cumin seeds and perhaps ¼ of a smashed stick of cinnamon or cassia instead of ground. The aromas will be worth it and I suspect the flavour will be rather enhanced.

Once cooked, puree - first put on an apron! and remove the star anise and any cinnamon stick if using). Pour into bottles or jars and seal. 

Use to marinate your meat before cooking on the BBQ.

Chook’s note: once you’ve made this sauce, or any other, adapt the recipe to suit your own taste – a little extra of this or that, hold back on other ingredients if you want to tone it down or add to spice it up. It's your kitchen and palate!

Homemade Worcestershire Sauce

The recipe for Worcestershire sauce, pronounced "Wust ta sheer," dates back to colonial India, when the British Lord Sandys brought it back from travels in Bengal. In 1835, he commissioned a pair of chemists back in his English hometown of Worcester to try and replicate the flavour. John Lea and William Perrins gave it a go but were disappointed by the results. They stuck the jars in the cellar and forgot about them.

After a few years, they rediscovered the bottles under a thick layer of dust and decided to give the sauce another chance. During the unintentional aging process, it had developed a rich and savory flavor identified by modern foodies as umami. The partners bottled more, and a taste for Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce spread across the world - and into our fridge!

Lea & Perrins closely guards its original recipe, but the main ingredients include vinegar, anchovies, tamarind, molasses, garlic, and onions, along with sugar and undisclosed spices and seasonings. While not the same as that famous sauce, this version tastes pretty yum.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 large sweet onions (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup tamarind paste 

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp minced ginger

2 jalapeños (seeds removed and minced)

1/4 cup anchovies (chopped)

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 whole cloves

2 Tbsp freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup golden syrup

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

3 cups white vinegar

1 cup dark beer

1/2 cup orange juice

2 cups water

1 lemon (thinly sliced)

1 lime (thinly sliced)

Makes about 1 litre

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions until soft, about 7 mins. Add the tamarind paste, garlic, ginger, and jalapeños. Cook over medium-low heat for another 5 mins.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 hours.

The sauce is done when it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Strain the sauce into glass bottles or jars and seal (refrigerate if you're concerned about it 'going off' - it will definitely go off in our household, straight onto the plate!). I like aged sauces and chutneys and I think this recipe will improve with age - if you give it a chance.

Chook's notes: I have tweaked the original recipe as some of the ingredients were not available locally. Next time I would increase the anchovies and tamarind but put in less of the jalapenos (the ones I used were quite large).

Although the original recipe claims that this will keep in the fridge for several weeks, I suspect,  like a jam, it would last longer in or out of the fridge. Or you could preserve it in the usual way (not something I'd be bothered doing). Of course once opened you should store it in the fridge to be on the safe side. 

Marmalade and nut biscuits

(This recipe is adapted from a Maggie Beer recipe)

Ingredients

50g butter

100g butter at room temperature

1/3 cup caster sugar

175g plain flour

30g rice flour

70g blanched almonds, chopped

3 Tbsp Seville Marmalade

1 Tbsp mixed peel (optional)

Method

Preheat oven 190C; line a couple of baking trays with baking paper.

Melt 50g butter in a small saucepan and continue to cook until nut brown, set aside to cool slightly.

Beat the remaining 100g butter and caster sugar together until creamy. Sieve the flour and rice flour together and add to the butter mixture, mixing well by hand.

Stir in the almonds and Seville Marmalade, adding the cooled nut brown butter.

Stir to combine, then divide the mixture in two and roll each half into a cylindrical shape on a lightly floured surface. Make sure that there are no cracks then roll up tightly in cling-wrap or baking paper and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight until ready to use.

Slice the biscuit dough into even rounds about 1-1.5cm thick and bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. 

Chook's note: Maggie's original recipe used macadamia nuts.  I’ve tried it with both macadamias and almonds and prefer almonds.

The original recipe called for unsalted butter but I use salted butter. I think it definitely needs the salt.

*It is essential that you brown the butter well as this gives the biscuits a rich caramelly flavour.

If you are in a hurry, pop the dough in the freezer for a little while until its set and cold - 1/2 to 3/4 hour.

The marmalade needs to be a rich tangy one. I have made them with Seville and blood orange, both batches were delicious. A little added peel would give it an extra zing. Try it! 

Tomato Rasam made simple

A delicious, simple and quick spicy-sweet-sour soup.  It’s similar in flavour to the dhal recipe I posted on 22 December 2019 but much simpler. Prep 5 mins. Cooking 20-30 mins. Perfect for lunch or an easy weekend dinner. 

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic crushed

A few curry leaves (if you have them)

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp rasam marsala*

1 tsp cumin

Black pepper ground

400g chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)

1 tsp tamarind paste (or 2 limes zest and juice)

1L stock or ½ stock and water

1 cup split red lentils

¼ cup chopped fresh coriander or parsley

Salt & pepper

½ cup natural yogurt

Method

Heat a large saucepan, add oil and cook onions for 4-5 mins to soften but not colour. Add spices and curry leaves and cook for a further 1 min to release flavours.

Add tomatoes, water/stock and lentils and bring to the boil, then simmer hard for 15 mins, stirring regularly until lentils are soft to the bite but still firm; add more water if soup becomes too thick. Add coriander/parsley, season and serve topped with yogurt.

Serves 4-6

Chook’s note: *if you don’t have rasam masala use garam masala and add some black pepper.

Use semi dried herbs if you don’t have fresh. Add chilli powder and bump up the spices if you like hot spicy.