4 good-size onions, very roughly chopped 250g celery, very roughly chopped 5 tbsp vegetable or olive oil 4 garlic cloves, sliced 1 tsp ground coriander 1 short cinnamon stick 1 tsp allspice ½ tsp ground black pepper 2 tsp celery salt 2kg ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 3 tbsp tomato purée ½ tsp Tabasco sauce 200ml white wine vinegar 200g golden caster sugar
Method
Put the onions and celery into a food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Heat the oil in a very large saucepan, add the onions and celery, cover, then soften over a low heat for 5 mins. Add the garlic, cook 5 mins more, then tip in the spices and cook for 1 min. Now stir in all remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Keep on a bubbling simmer, uncovered, for 1 hr until the tomatoes are squashy and the liquid has reduced by several inches. Whizz the mix with a stick blender until smooth, then sieve into a bowl. The ketchup will thicken a little when it cools, but if yours seems very runny (this will depend on the juiciness of your tomatoes), put it back on the heat and cook a little longer, stirring often, until reduced. Keep the ketchup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months, or freeze in batches. If you like, keep in sterilised bottles or jars for up to 6 months.
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