I’m a big fan of lists. Grocery lists. To-do lists. Not to-do lists. To-read lists. Covet lists. I-totally-want-to-drink-that lists. I’m-jealous-of-your-hair lists. Wake-up-early-and-change-the-world lists. Sweep-the-dang-kitchen-floor lists.
My favorite, and most recent list is the Summer Bucket List: a dreamy list of things I want to do while the sun (and I) stay up late. Do you have one of these lists? ooh I hope so! Tracy and I have talked about our Summer Bucket List on the Joy the Baker Podcast (are you hip to that yet!?). Here’s a peek at the Bucket List happenings:
– Go on and Get Crafty!
– Walk around New York City like I know what’s up! Sometimes this is hard for a California girl… but I’m totally doing it riiiight now!
– It’s time for a public dance spectacle. Oooh ya. It’s real. As soon as I learn some moves I’m doing this!
– Eat too many hotdogs, in a pool, wearing floaties, during sunset. Sounds like the weirdest, most romantic eating contest ever. Awesome.
– Beach bonfire. With a trampoline. Does this only happen in The Big Lebowski?
Also on my list: Make Homemade Ketchup! It’s happening!
Yes… you can totally buy ketchup at the grocery in a squeeze bottle. Pffft. It’s so satisfying to make and majorly easy to customize. Buck-it! It’s summer!
Ketchup starts with onion, garlic, and spices.
Did you know that ketchup has so many spices in it? Heck yes! A good base to start with is clove, allspice, mustard powder, and smokey paprika.
As a kick in the pants, I added a big bit of yellow curry powder!
Other ketchup heavy-hitters are: crushed canned tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato paste. It just needs a good boiling. About an hour of slow boiling turns this mixture into a luscious ketchup creation.
I like to blend the ketchup with an immersion blender and strain it through a fine mesh strainer.
No seeds and super smooth!
… Just look at this! This is inappropriately exciting.
The presence of ketchup really just means one thing: FRENCH FRIES!!! You best believe I’m showing you how to make these little fried potato gems on Friday. Get your ketchup going in preparation. It’s totally a weeknight activity.
The curry in this ketchup lends a subtle yet really enticing flavor to the mixture. It’s sweet and round, has just the right amount of acid, and the combination of clove, mustard, paprika, and curry really just knows how to work. I love that I can boil this in my kitchen. It feels like magic.
I hope you’re inspired to make this! We have fries in our future!
Homemade Curry Ketchup
makes about 3 cups
recipe adapted from What’s Gaby Cooking and Saveur
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground yellow curry
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika
big pinch ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Place oil in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. I used a 3 quart sauce pan and it seemed like the perfect fit. Saute onions until they are transparent, tender, and begin to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add the tomato paste, salt, and all of the spices to the pan. Stir until the tomato paste is evenly distributed, and the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add brown sugar, vinegar, and crushed tomatoes. Stir to combine.
Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Mixture will thicken to a ketchup consistency. Stir occasionally.
Remove pan from heat, and use an immersion blender to blend to the chunky ketchup smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can carefully place the warm ketchup in a regular blender to blend smooth. Just be sure to leave the blender lid slightly ajar so the warm contents don’t burst. After using either an immersion or regular blender, strain ketchup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. This will remove any unwanted seeds.
Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Store ketchup in glass jars in the fridge. Ketchup will last for up to 1 month in the fridge!
Margherita
I always pondered the idea of making ketchup at home. I never did it just because of laziness. Your recipe looks really really good and those French fries….awwww…
Lia
Yes! I need this in my life & tomorrow it’s happening. I may even make some for my girlfriends i’m visiting this weekend! Thanks Joy!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
I’ve made homemade mustard, salad dressing, nut butter…but ketchup is a condiment I haven’t tackled yet. Yet. Because now I want to after seeing how glorious yours looks!
Stephie @ Eat Your Heart Out
You are too cool. Let’s have a french fry party.
wendy
this looks delicious and totally do-able! i had a curry ketchup in berlin last november and i cannot find the brand of it anywhere! it was sweet, and thicker than ketchup, but definitely ketchup based. just added this to my bucket list :)
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Emily
I got some at a food swap I think the person put a touch of cinnamon in it. It was amazing. Also, after listening to that podcast, I think you should see the movie “Damsels in Distress” the girl’s dream is to start an international dance craze. Boom boom Pow!
leaf (the indolent cook)
That looks pretty scrumptious. I had some rather disappointing store-bought ketchup today… should really look into making my own!
Courtney @ The Granola Chronicles
Ahhh! Curry and tomatoes were totally made for each other.
Tina
made homemade ketchup (not a huge fan of it) this summer and totally love the mix of tomatos and rhubarb
kathleen
oh man… curry ketchup is my FAVORITE. on a hot dog with good mayo and some chopped fresh white onion… holy crap on a cracker it’s good. first had it in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and the Dutch are really onto something. every time our friends come back to the states, I beg them to bring me a bottle because it’s SO.GOOD.
now I want a hot dog. and it’s 11:40 pm. eff.
heather @ chiknpastry
duuuuuude. that’s awesome. i made a balsamic ketchup last week for the 4th and still have some left. YUM. i’ll give the curry a whirl next time ;).
Amy
Oh man, I can’t wait to try this. Thanks for posting. I love the idea of having fresh, homemade condiments in my fridge instead of bottle upon bottle of preserved ones.
kayla
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this post since I saw your Instagram sneak peek. Def making this soon! Also, I’m strangely reminded of Da Dip by Freak Nasty. So not the same thing, I know, but would dancing around eating fries and this ketchup be so wrong? I think not. Bucket list! :)
Janae @ Bring-Joy
Joy, I live to dip. I think we need more spicy sauce in the world. Thank you for adding one more worthwhile dipping sauce to the world. I can’t wait to try it.
Louisa
Will definitely have to make this for my bf :) he loves ketchup in all forms and this looks delicious. Can’t wait to see the french fries installment! I love lists (especially fun summer ones)… don’t forget your oat sodas and white russians to accompany the beach bonfire/trampoline combo :)