We all have a bottle of ketchup hidden somewhere – even those die-hards amongst us that insist it’s really bad for us. Interestingly enough tomato sauce isn’t nearly as bad for us as our mothers let us believe – nowadays there are many brands that are made reasonably well and most of the chemicals were removed along with the sugar. The problem with the store-bought variety is that invariably it ages because we never do use that last little bit (or the kids don’t) and there’s always a half bottle or two somewhere in the back of the fridge or so far back in the cupboard that it’s out of sight and when we find it, it has caked up

and we can never get it out …. until one day when we’re really frantic and it splats all over the place. Here’s a the basic recipe to ‘have and to hold’ until after the children have left the house or the their children come back in because there’s nothing that beats the smug feeling we get when we whip out one of these, ever so casually, when those guests arrive.

Ingredients

• 6 kg very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 8 medium onions, peeled, halved and sliced
• 3 large lemons, zest only
• 2 large red peppers, seeds and white filament removed, chopped
• 150g soft brown sugar
• 500ml oz cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 large piece of cinnamon stick
• 3 black cardamom
• 1 tbsp whole allspice
• 1 tbsp whole cloves
• 1 tbsp ground mace
• 1 tbsp celery seeds
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and bruised
• Sea salt
• Hot smoked paprika, to taste

Method

• Put  the tomatoes, the onion and the peppers in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until everything is very soft.
• Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly and then blend everything( with your hand held blender) until it is soft and velvety.
• Return to the pot with the sugar, the vinegar, the lemon zest and the mustard.
• Tie the cinnamon, the allspice, the cardamom, the cloves, the mace, the celery seeds, the black peppercorns, the bay leaves and the garlic in a square of muslin cloth, tie tightly and drop it into the tomatoes.
• Bring the mixture to the boil and then reduce it to a slow simmer, continuing to cook, allowing it to bubble gently and stirring often and carefully, for at least 10-20 minutes, until well blended and thick.
• Allow to cool, remove the muslin bag of spices and then pour the mixture through a funnel into suitable bottles.
• Stored in the fridge this ketchup will keep for a month and if you want to preserve properly with sterilized jars, it should keep for a year.