Infused Ketchup

Yesterday I went to lunch with my neighbor Alice. We each enjoyed the same sandwich. Alice requested ketchup for her fries. Alice asked me to taste the ketchup as it really was infused with something tasty. We asked the manager as he came to our table to question our satisfaction with our food. He was eager to share the recipe. I will try to share the recipe as it was shared with us.

Pomegranate Infused Ketchup

8 Roma Tomatoes, cut in quarters

3 garlic cloves

1 small onion, diced

Fresh basil, chiffanod

Olive oil

Pomegranate molasses*

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Quarter the tomatoes lengthwise to expose as much flesh as possible. Place the tomatoes in a bowl, add the finely sliced garlic, diced onion and basil. Allow to remain for two hours.

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Place the tomato mixture on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for about 1/2 hour or more just until tomatoes begin to caramelize. Do not allow to darken. Remove from oven and allow the tomatoes to soak up the juices and cool.

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The ratio of tomatoes to ketchup is one tomato to two ounces of commercial ketchup. Puree the tomato mixture. Add to the ketchup. Add Pomegranate molasses to taste. Ketchup will keep indefinitely in refrigerator.

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Pomegranate Molasses Don't let this item change your thought of creating this recipe. I took a cooking class and learned that if you take pomegranate juice and cooking it reducing it from 3 cups to 1 cup, you have the some composition.

Mango Chutney

Mango Chutney

I prepared the Curry Chicken Burgers with Bismati Rice Recipe of April 20, 2010) and Naan (bread) for our Dinner. Being the frugal person I am, I thought the difference in the price of chicken breasts verses ground chicken breasts was $4.00 per pound. Now how difficult can grinding a chicken breast be? I must admit it was time consuming until I got it figured out that any tendons would block the grinding disc. For the difference of $6.00 for the one and one-half pounds, I still would grind the chicken breasts. I served a sour tofu instead of sour cream to reduce cholesterol. It was very tasty and difficult to distinguish from sour cream. The Mango Chutney certainly was the condiment that made the dish!

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I would highly recommend that you use the Mango Chutney recipe the next time you plan to prepare pork, poultry, or fish. It is so worth your effort.

Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 cup mango, peeled and cut into 3/4" pieces

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 1/2 Tablespoons golden onions

2 teaspoons crystallized ginger, finely chopped

1/4 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, whole

pinch of red pepper flakes

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Directions:

Combine sugar and vinegar in a 2 quart saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, until syrupy and slightly thickened, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir occasionally during cooking.

This chutney is great on poultry, pork, chicken and fish. Refrigerate any leftovers.