Homemade Ketchup

Preparation – 20 minutes

Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Prepare a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes.

Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores with a small knife and cut a cross at the bottom. Place the tomatoes in batches in the boiling water for about 20 seconds and then immediately transfer them to the cold water.

Repeat for all tomatoes and use a small knife to skin all them. Cut the peeled tomatoes into coarse pieces.

Peel the red onion and garlic cloves and chop them finely, this does not have to be very precise because we are going to purée the ketchup.

Make your own ketchup – 1 hour

Heat a dash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add the tomato pieces along with the bay leaf and cook for a few more minutes.

Add the sugar along with the vinegar, then lower the heat. Let the tomatoes simmer for about 45 minutes without a lid.

Stir occasionally to prevent burning, then purée the ketchup with an stick blender until smooth. If you don't want the tomato seeds in the ketchup, you can strain them out.

If the ketchup is still too thin, perhaps because you used extra juicy tomatoes, you can let it reduce a little longer. Season with salt and pepper. Use black pepper if possible, this gives the ketchup a warm taste.