Did you ever do this with Ketchup?

You probably already know loads of ways to use this; 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

e.g. chilli con carne, can taste a little sharp – a spoonful or two of 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.

Sauce Marie Rose

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?

12 Flavoured Ketchup 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!

Caramelised Onion 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 Ketchup 

Stir 1 teaspoon chipotle paste into the ketchup, a squeeze of lime would be good too if you have such a thing.

Curried Ketchup 

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

Roasted Garlic Ketchup

Mix or purée in 2-3 roasted garlic cloves.

Black Garlic Ketchup 

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

Balsamic Ketchup

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

Mexican Ketchup

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

Chinese Ketchup

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

Caribbean Mango 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 Ketchup 

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 Ketchup 

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

Sweet Chilli Ketchup

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

Brilliant Ways to use Mayonnaise ~ some you might not have thought of!

Strange quote by Robin Williams

Well, I am a gentile but have many, many good reasons for eating mayonnaise!

Before we start, however, please see my previous post on 38 Different Ways to Flavour Mayonnaise (it will open in a separate tab so you can refer to it as necessary) all of which can be used in the following ways. 

~  Salad dressing ~ obviously!

~   As a sauce or topping for fish, burgers, steaks, etc. 

~   Mayonnaise Dips

Any of the 38 delicious different mayonnaise flavours listed in my aforementioned post, make great dips! Here however, is a great hot dip recipe …

Hot Feta & Artichoke Dip

1 390g can artichoke hearts – drained
225g crumbled feta cheese
225g mayonnaise
1 clove of garlic – finely chopped

~   Preheat oven to 180ºC/350°F/160ºC fan/gas 4.
~   Coarsely chop the artichoke hearts and mix together with the rest of the ingredients.
~   Turn into an appropriately attractive ovenproof dish (as you will be taking it to the table) and bake for 20-25 minutes till hot and golden brown.
~    Serve with something great to dip into it – good bread, tortilla chips of fresh veggies.

~   Make like a Belgian!  

Seemingly they “invented” dipping chips in mayonnaise and I think they did absolutely the right thing. Lovely combination!

~   Coleslaw

With just a bit of onion and some mayonnaise it is possible to turn cabbage into a delicious salad!  Here is my basic coleslaw recipe with ideas for ways to vary it.  I haven’t mentioned different flavoured mayonnaise in that post but go for it!

~   Potato Salad

Lots of potato salad ideas here. 

~   Mash mayonnaise into potatoes instead of butter 

Try horseradish mayonnaise in potatoes for beef, for instance, or how about anchovy mayonnaise in the mashed potato for fish pie?

~   Fish Cakes

There are two easy ways to make fish cakes …

1.   Mashed Potato Method – gently mix together equal-ish amounts of flaked cooked fish and potato mashed with mayonnaise of whichever flavour you fancy. Season to taste. Form into cakes and chill for 30 minutes , coat in seasoned flour and shallow fry till hot, crisp and golden.

2.   Breadcrumb Method – mix leftover cooked fish with a tablespoon of tasty mayonnaise per 100g fish. Season as appropriate and gently work in, by hand, fresh breadcrumbs till the mixture is capable of holding together. Chill and cook as above.

~   Spread mayonnaise in sandwiches

Mayo makes a nice change instead of butter, speaking of which …

~   Grilled Cheese Sarnies with Mayonnaise

These are even better with the addition of mayonnaise, grilled cheese sandwich information here.

~   Cheese on Toast with Mayo

Mayonnaise is also good mixed with grated cheese plus whatever you like, spread on toast and grilled till golden.  I usually add finely chopped red onion and a little sweet chilli sauce but use your imagination. Warning, however- this quite rich. See here for this plus other Cheese on Toast Ideas.

~   Crisply Coated Fish

When coating fish fillets for baking or frying, instead of the old flour, egg, crumbs method try coating the fish in mayonnaise and then coating with breadcrumbs or panko. See here for more info on baking fish.

~   Corn on the Cob

Mayonnaise is a great alternative to butter or take it further and make …

~   Elote – Mexican Grilled Corn

Basically, this is grilled corn cobs spread with mayonnaise (straightforward mayo is normal but Chipotle Mayonnaise is wonderful!) and sprinkled with Cojita – if you haven’t got any Cojita substitute with Feta or Parmesan.

~   Rustic Cherry Tomato Tart

Before I get into the details I’d just like to say that this is a great way to make a tart if you don’t have the necessary tart case or similar.

320g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry – thawed, if frozen
100g mayonnaise – basil mayonnaise would be brilliant here
1 tbsp grated Parmesan
300g cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 egg – beaten with a pinch of salt

~   Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.
~   Lay the pastry on a baking tray.
~   Stir together the mayonnaise and grated Parmesan and spread on the pastry leaving a border of about 1cm.
~   Halve the tomatoes and arrange prettily on the mayonnaise.
~   Glaze the exposed rim of pastry with beaten egg (handy hint- try not to let any drizzle down the edge of the pastry or it won’t rise so well. Incidentally, click here if you would like 40+ more handy hints for free!)
~   Sprinkle, the whole tart including the edges, with crunchy sea salt and bake for about 25-30 minutes till risen and golden.
~   Serve warm or cold.

Grilling with Mayonnaise

Here is a useful article on how to use mayo instead of oil when grilling – I wish I’d know this when I cooked at a 6 foot wide char-grill every evening at work! 

There are lots of articles around on using mayonnaise as an ingredient in sweet baked dishes; chocolate cake, scones, cookies etc. I’ve never tried this – have you? Let me know in the comments!

In Other News … Cornwall

I am so glad we live in Cornwall – these are some of the places we have been to in the past few days, all within about 30 minutes’ drive from our home!  Lucky, lucky us!

Why You Really Should Keep a Well Stocked Storecupboard

First a bit of backstory …

About 3 years ago my book, The Leftovers Handbook, was published. It is now undergoing a makeover and the new addition, which will be called Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers will be published next March.  It seems ages to wait but, on the other hand, time seems to pass so quickly it probably won’t take long!!

Whilst discussing this new edition the possibility of a follow up book, on Storecupboards, was mooted but now seems to have fallen by the wayside, maybe it will be taken up again later.  However, as I’ve started thinking about the matter I’ve decided to do some blog posts on the things I personally like to keep in stock and how I use them to spontaneously create all sorts of meals. 

Why Should You Keep a Well-Stocked Storecupboard?

A properly stocked pantry is very important if you want to cook spontaneously and make the most of lucky finds and leftovers.

It’s no good picking up a bargain or a wonderful food discovery, being inspired and then not having the wherewithal! A well-stocked storecupboard (and fridge) allows you to be both spontaneous and creative.

Say, for instance, you are lucky enough to find some lovely fish. A very simple preparation that might please the whole family is ...

Roasted Fish

This is fine for one or several pieces of fish so long as they are all similar sizes, otherwise some will cook faster than others.

~   Preheat oven to 180ºC/350°F/160ºC fan/gas 4.
~   Season the fish with salt and pepper and rub with a little oil or butter.
~   Place, not touching, on a baking tray and roast for 10-15 minutes till the fish flakes easily if you poke it – the timing will depend on the thickness of the fish so keep an eye on it.

Now then, according to your storecupboard you could vary this wildly simply by adding ginger, garlic, chilli or Thai green curry paste, sumac, chipotle, blackening spice, herbs, lemon zest, chopped capers etc. to the butter before rubbing it on the fish.  See more about flavoured and compound butters here.  (I accidentally typed compound buggers at first, there, but I think you need a different type of blog for information on those!)

Once you have coated the fish in oil or butter, seasoned just how you like it, you could, if you wished, roll it in a little flour before roasting to give a fragile crust.

Panko Crusted Fish

Fish is often served with a crisp coating such as breadcrumbs or a batter (lots of coatings for fried food here) but the best coating to use at home (in my opinion), is lovely crunchy Japanese panko crumbs, which I always have in stock.  Just roll the buttered fish in the crumbs and bake till crisp. 

Incidentally panko crumbs are a storecupboard staple for me and I have already written about them in this appropriately titled post ~ Panko! 

I often serve this with sautéed potatoes and Green Chilli Mayonnaise – simply made by stirring together a very little Patak’s Green Chilli Pickle (storecupboard), Mayonnaise (fridge) and a squeeze of lemon (fridge or fruit bowl) but you might have Tartare Sauce in your cupboard, or you could mix something else into the mayonnaise such tomato ketchup to make a simple Marie Rose sauce (if you happen to have a little brandy in your storecupboard it is a great addition to this), or how about Sweet Chilli Sauce or go all exotic and add chopped preserved lemons or tapenade – the list is endless and it’s up to you! 

Another quickly impressive way to cook your fish in the oven is in a parcel as with this ...

Baked Fish with Tomato & Coconut

For this I use creamed coconut, another of my storecupboard staples.

1 can chopped tomatoes – perhaps with chilli
100g creamed coconut
½ tsp green chilli pickle (mentioned above) or curry paste or chilli powder or whatever you fancy to make the mixture taste gorgeous to you
grated zest and juice of ½ a lime or lemon, maybe

~   Gently heat together the tomatoes and creamed coconut and stir together till melted.
~   Add the chilli pickle/curry paste/seasoning plus maybe lime or lemon zest and juice to taste.
~   Cool. (That is an instruction, not a comment).
~   Season a nice piece of fish per person and sear in a little oil till browning on both sides – this is because, being wrapped in a parcel, it won’t brown in the oven.
~   Place on a piece of buttered foil.
~   Spread a tablespoon or a little more of the coconut stuff over each piece of fish.
~   Fold the foil loosely round the fish and filling.
~   Bake as above, maybe for slightly less time as it has already been seared.

When I worked as a chef in the Caribbean I used to bake this in a banana leaf but a piece of foil works just as well, it just doesn’t look so impressive!

Now for me I would have all these options (and then some) without having to give it another thought or buy anything else, because I am always prepared. You can build up your storecupboard over time, it doesn’t have to be a one off big expense and, with many of these things, not only do they have a long shelf life but also a little goes a long way.

So, the above was by way of an introduction to this occasional series which I shall be writing quite randomly, i.e. in no particular order. I have no intention of writing about such storecupboard basics as flour, sugar etc. but rather the things that I always keep in and the many ways I use them. Think I’ll start with mayonnaise – coming soon!