BARBECUE CHIPOTLE CHILLI KETCHUP

CANNING

 Homegrown tomatoes always means an end of season years batch of homemade tomato ketchup, this year my son wanted to make a barbecue chilli ketchup, good choice.

Ingredients 

(yields 7 x 350ml bottles)

Stage One

3kg tomatoes halved

4 white onions roughly chopped

1 red pepper deseeded and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1 bay leaf

10 whole peppercorns

5 whole cloves

15 all spice berries crushed

1 tsp celery seeds

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp ground mace

1 tsp smoked paprika

Stage Two

300-400g soft dark brown sugar

130ml apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp dried chipotle chilli flakes

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

6 tbsp yellow hot dog mustard

In a large heavy based saucepan place all the first stage ingredients, over a medium heat simmer for approximately 1–2 hours until all soft and pulpy.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pushing all the pulp through with the back of a ladle.  Discard the pulp, I put mine in the compost.

Return the tomato juice to the pan and on a medium hot heat simmer until reduce by half and generously coats the back of a spoon. Turn down to a low simmer.

The ketchup is now ready for stage two.  Add half the sugar and all of the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine, taste and adjust the flavour with the sugar until the sweetness and acid are balance for you.

Heat your jars and lids in a pre heated oven 150 C / 290 F for 5 minutes to sterilise, using a funnel pour your barbecue ketchup into your bottles, seal with the lid and leave to cool on the side.

Once cooled check the depressed lid button has depressed, this confirms a safe seal, your jars can now be stored in the larder for around a year, not that our batch of ketchup last that long.

CANNING ROASTED TOMATOES

 I love our self sufficient lifestyle and this time of the year, August is when I start to get overwhelmed with a glut of produce from the garden, suddenly my canning and preserving books are out and I’m making roasted tomato pasatta, pickled courgettes, pickled beetroot and beetroot relish, apple sauce and chutney’s.

Garden Grown Marinara 

Prep time 10 minutes / Oven roasting 1 hour / canning 50 minutes 

Ingredients

(Made 7 X 450ml mason jars)

The Roasting pan

1 glut of ripe tomatoes approx 3 kg

2 red onions peeled and quartered

6 cloves garlic peeled

2 large sprigs fresh basil

4 sprigs thyme

1 tbsp dried oregano 

50ml olive oil

The Deep Saucepan

1 glug olive oil

1 white onion chopped

4 garlic cloves chopped

1 leek roughly chopped

2 ribs celery roughly chopped

250ml good red wine

250ml good white wine

2 tsp sugar

Sea salt and black pepper

2 lemons juiced

Pre heat your oven to 180 C /  356 F.

Place all the ingredients in a large roasting tin and toss together, place in the oven to roast until pulpy.

Heat your deep sauce pan to medium heat, add all the ingredients and gently soften without colour for 1 hour.  Add the wine and reduce by 1/3.

Remove the roasting tomatoes from the oven and ladle several times in to a fine mesh sieve, using the back of the ladle spoon push all the liquid through until you are left with a dry (ish) pulp, discard the pulp, continue with the rest of the tomatoes.

Add the tomato juice to your soften veg in the sauce pan and bring to a simmer, reduce the sauce until your desired consistency that will coat pasta or hold as a sauce.

Using a hand stick blender blitz the sauce until smooth.

Canning to Preserve

To Sterilise Jars

Place clean jars in a pre heated oven at 150 C / 290 F for 5 minutes.

Remove and place on the side.

Place your lids and rings in the oven again for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile

Working quickly, ladle or pour the tomato marinara into the hot jars leaving 2 inch head space, then pour in approx 30ml of lemon juice on top of the marinara.

Remove the lids and rings from the oven and firm ish place on top of the jars, do not over tighten at this point.

Bring your canning pot or a large deep pot of water to a rolling simmer, place in your jars making sure they are well submerged, simmer for 40 minutes.

Remove from the canning saucepan and leave to cool on the side, within in a few minutes you should start to hear the glorious PING PING PING of the lids sealing from the pressure.

That’s it, safe fresh garden grown canned marinara for the coming year.