Cooking with Tomato Ketchup ~ did you ever do this with it?

No – not that!!

You probably already know loads of ways to use tomato ketchup; some people put it on everything! But it’s not only good on a vast range of foods it can be used also as an ingredient in many dishes.

Tomato based sauces, soups and stews and chilli con carne can taste a little sharp – a spoonful or two of tomato ketchup will fix this.

Instant Pizza Sauce

A surprisingly good pizza sauce can be made by mixing together equal parts of tomato ketchup and tomato paste. I know it sounds a bit lame but try it! Add a little hot sauce or chipotle paste if you wish.  Oh, and see here for my easy and flexible pizza base recipe.

Marie Rose Sauce

This is the classic Prawn Cocktail sauce and can be made simply by mixing together 120g mayonnaise and 1½ tbsp tomato ketchup. If you wish, add a squeeze of lemon juice, maybe a drip or two of hot sauce and/or Worcestershire sauce or, although not normally considered a condiment, a splash of brandy is good in this too!

Cocktail Sauce

This is a stronger tasting sauce for seafood.  Simply mix 250ml ketchup with a teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce, a teaspoon of horseradish sauce and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and season if needed. You might wish to add a little hot sauce.

Seafood Alfredo

Add a squirt of ketchup to Alfredo Sauce plus perhaps a little brandy, stir in some cooked seafood in and toss with pasta.

Carolina Red Slaw

This is how they make coleslaw in Lexington, North Carolina …

160ml tomato ketchup
120ml cider vinegar
150g caster sugar
a dash of hot sauce – optional
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium cabbage

~   Mix together the first three ingredients.
~   Taste and add hot sauce, salt and pepper till it is utterly delicious.
~   Finely shred the cabbage and toss with the dressing.
~   Chill till needed.

See here for my basic coleslaw recipe plus good ideas to vary it.

Speaking of American chaps here are two more of their traditional recipes …

Catalina Dressing

This is quite sweet and often used to dress Taco Salad.

60ml ketchup
60ml white wine vinegar
½ small onion– very finely chopped or even grated, lightly chopped
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
120ml vegetable oil
salt and pepper and maybe a little hot sauce to taste

~   Mix everything, except the salt, pepper and optional hot sauce, together vigorously. A blender would be a good idea if you can be bothered with the subsequent clean up.
~   Taste and season deliciously.
~   Chill till needed.

Sloppy Joes

Serves 4

This is a bit sweet too but it works; brown sugar goes well with beef.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion – finely chopped
half a green pepper (traditional) or red pepper (nicer) – finely chopped
1 garlic clove – very finely chopped
600g minced beef
½ tsp Dijon mustard
160ml tomato ketchup
3 teaspoons soft dark brown sugar
150ml hot water
salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste
(this seems to be standard in ketchup-using recipes!)
4 burger buns – split

~   Heat the oil, add the onion and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, till it starts to soften and maybe even brown slightly.
~   Add the garlic and cook a minute or so more.
~   Stir in the beef, turn up the heat, and cook, stirring a bit, till the beef has turned brown.
~   Stir in the mustard, ketchup and sugar and when well combined add the hot water.
~   Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, adding a little more water if necessary – the mixture should be thick and saucy, not dry.
~   Taste and season.
~   Serve hot in the burger buns.

BBQ Sauce

This is good brushed onto sausages, burgers, ribs, kebabs, chicken or whatever you have on your barbecue.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small red onion – finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – finely chopped 
300ml tomato ketchup
50ml soy sauce
55g soft dark brown sugar
salt, pepper and, guess what?  Hot sauce!

~   In a small pan gently cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil till tender.
~   Stir in the tomato ketchup, soy sauce and sugar and stir together over medium heat till the sugar has melted and the sauce is smooth.
~   Taste and season.

According to an article in the Telegraph 

Well if that is the case I have a suggestion for them.

You may remember I recently wrote a post on 38 ways to flavour mayonnaise. Well ketchup also lends itself to the addition of other flavours, thus becoming more exotic! This time I’ve only come up with a dozen ideas but I’m sure there are lots more – any ideas?

How to Add Flavour to Tomato Ketchup ~ 12 Ideas …

In theory, my suggestions below are for 240ml ketchup but pretty well in all cases it is a matter of personal preference; add a little, taste and, if you wish, add a little more until it is yummy! See here for how to season to taste, which will help.

Caramelised Onion Tomato Ketchup 

See here for how to caramelise onions  and when you have made some and they are cool mix (or even better, purée) into the ketchup in the proportions of about 1 part caramelised onion to 2 parts ketchup. 

Chipotle Tomato Ketchup 

Stir a teaspoon of lovely chipotle paste into the ketchup, a squeeze of lime would be good too if you have such a thing.

Curried Tomato Ketchup 

Add 1 teaspoon curry paste to the ketchup and stir briskly to combine.

Roasted Garlic Tomato Ketchup

Mix or purée in 2-3 roasted garlic cloves.

Black Garlic Tomato Ketchup 

As above but use 2 or 3 cloves black garlic. Read more about back garlic here.

Balsamic Tomato Ketchup

Stir in a tablespoon or so of balsamic vinegar and a little soft dark brown sugar.

Mexican Tomato Ketchup

Add 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander and chili powder plus the juice of a lime.

Chinese Tomato Ketchup

Add a tablespoon of soy sauce and a couple of teaspoons of 5-spice powder.

Caribbean Mango and Tomato Ketchup 

Peel, dice and purée a fresh mango, mix with the ketchup and adjust flavour with lime juice and a little jerk seasoning.

Spanish-ish Pepper Tomato Ketchup 

Add 1 roasted, peeled and finely chopped red pepper (or the equivalent from a jar), 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, ½ tsp smoked paprika and a dash of sherry vinegar.

Spicy Orange Tomato Ketchup 

Add the zest and juice 1 orange and a little of either hot sauce or chipotle paste.

Sweet Chilli Tomato Ketchup

Just stir in sweet chilli sauce till it tastes to your liking; probably about 3 or so tablespoons but up to you!

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