make it paleo: ketchup

i know, its weird right? spending all that time to make something as simple at ketchup... paleo? well, when you have small kids in the house, and also love ketchup, and realize there is added sugar or high fructose corn syrup in your favorite brand of the ol' condiment... it just seems necessary. 

for me at least. plus, i like a good challenge. on my own terms.

so i set about to make a yummy roasted garlic and tomato ketchup that i recently discovered on the blog My New Roots (which is not a paleo blog). aren't the pictures so pretty? the ketchup is pretty good too!

i roasted my tomatoes, then head out to take the kids to open gym at our favorite gymnastics hang out.

then came home to finish off the recipe. i did make a few of my own changes, really small ones.

{ROASTED GARLIC & TOMATO KETCHUP

10 medium-sized tomatoes

coconut oil

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

3 star anise

3 bay leaves

1 tsp. ground coriander

pinch of chili flakes

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Wash and cut tomatoes in half. Smash garlic cloves and remove skin.  Place on a lined baking sheet. Lightly drizzle with oil and a pinch of sea salt. Place in oven and roast for 30 minutes or so, until tomatoes and garlic are caramelized and fragrant.  

3. While the tomatoes are cooking, heat some oil in a large pot and add onions, a pinch of sea salt, black pepper, garlic, chili flakes, star anise, bay leaves, and coriander. Cook until the onions soften slightly, about 5 minutes. When the bottom of the pot gets dry, “deglaze” the pot with apple cider vinegar. 

4. Once slightly cool, place tomatoes and cooked onion mix (remove star anise and bay leaves, but save for later) in a food processor and blend on high to puree. The original recipe says to  use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula, press puree through a mesh sieve back into the pot, but I didn’t and liked the more chunky consistency of my ketchup.

5. Add back the star anise and bay leaves, bring a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook until thickened (5-10 minutes). Season to taste. If it is not tangy enough, add a few teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. 

6. Once the ketchup has slightly cooled, pour into a clean glass container and store in the fridge for a week. Freezes well.  

i brought it to a super bowl party with roasted matchstick sweet potatoes and parsnips. i also topped some green sliders with it for dinner another night, and polished off the rest with some leftovers for lunch today. so tasty.