Carlos Solis
Homemade ketchup with bell peppers is rich in antioxidants and fiber, which aid digestion and help you feel full longer. This nutritious condiment is a good source of potassium and vitamins C, A, and B, which support vision, the nervous system, and heart and vascular health. However, ketchup made from tomatoes and peppers can lower blood pressure, so people with hypotension should eat it cautiously. People with gastritis, ulcers, or hemorrhoids should also be cautious. If allergic to peppers, omit them from the recipe.
Ingredients: ripe tomatoes – 3 kg; bell peppers – 600 g; onions – 500 g; garlic – ½ head; sugar – 150 g; 9% vinegar – 100 ml; salt – 1 tablespoon; black pepper – 10 peas; allspice – 4 peas; cloves – 4 pcs.; ground cinnamon – ½ teaspoon; ground nutmeg – ½ teaspoon.
Preparation
Coarsely chop the peeled tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic. Place the vegetables in a pot, add salt, and cook for 3 hours over medium heat with the lid on. By the end of cooking, the contents of the pot should reduce in volume by one-half to two-thirds.
Remove the pot from the heat and blend the tomato mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. In a coffee grinder or mortar, grind the nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, and allspice. Add these spices along with the sugar to the vegetable puree in the pot, pour in the vinegar, and mix thoroughly. Return the pot to medium heat and cook the homemade ketchup with bell peppers for another half hour.
Life Hack
To easily remove the skin from a tomato, make a shallow cross-cut at the stem end and blanch the tomato in boiling water, then immediately transfer it to cold water: briefly scald it, then cool it in ice water. The skin will also separate easily if you place the tomato in a preheated oven at 200–220°C (about 390–430°F) for a few minutes—when the skin cracks, take it out, cool it, and peel it—or heat it in the microwave for 15–30 seconds.
If you’re interested in the history of ketchup, check out our other publications:
And for a classic tomato ketchup recipe, we wrote about it here:
