Red Pepper Ketchup

Two straight years for Christmas I've asked for xanthan gum, to keep in the kitchen pantry for thickening food. You know how much xanthan gum I have? None. You know what I could've used for my recipe? Xanthan gum. November's recipe, red pepper ketchup, tasted great, but was just a little too thin. I strained out the excess liquid, which was helpful. But I would rather be able to use the xanthan gum.


Overall, this worked really well as a topping for a lamb burger with feta cheese. I went so far as to grind the lamb meat myself, but if you find it already ground in your local market, that is a good route to take.


On to the recipe!

• 2 red peppers
• 3 tomatoes
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp salt

To start, preheat your oven to 375, and cut up the peppers and tomatoes into small pieces. Toss with a little olive oil and sprinkle some salt and brown sugar on them. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing a few times as they cook. Once done, put into a food processor and add brown sugar, salt and vinegar. Process the food. If it appears too thin and you want it to more closely resemble the viscosity of ketchup, strain out and discard the liquid. That's it! It's that simple. Condiments are easy. And really tasty.

What I'm happiest about is how little goes into the recipe, and how good the end result tasted. It was very similar to regular ketchup, with the noticeable-but-not-overwhelming taste of the peppers. This made leftovers, which are currently in ice cube trays in the freezer, saved for future use.