I've been making so many different recipes with rhubarb lately...
...if only I had the time to post about all of them today...sigh. For the sake of time management I decided to pick just one thing to blog about this morning and I opted for my current favorite: Roasted Rhubarb Ketchup.
Why did I choose this recipe? I think it's a remarkable achievement to turn something somewhat unusual like rhubarb into a common everyday condiment like ketchup. But this my friends, this is no ordinary ketchup. It has layers upon layers of flavors. Sweetness, spices, substance...it's all here.
Dare I add it's pretty sexy too?
As sexy as a sauce made from petioles of oxalic acid can be.
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Start by chopping raw rhubarb, red onion and garlic. If you have some shallots, chop them up and add them too.
Roast for about an hour at 350 degrees.
Give 'em a little stir every 15 minutes or so.
When the hour is up the veggie mixture should be completely cooked, so remove it from the oven, then stir it all together until well blended.
It will be a rather unappealing mush.
Next scoop it up -- solids and liquids and all -- into a sieve or food mill that's been placed over a heavy-bottomed saucepan and puree it until you've extruded most of the good stuff into your pan.
You will have some pulp left behind.
Mix the remaining ingredients (spices, vinegar and sugar) in a saucepan and simmer for about 15 minutes. Best to cover the saucepan pan because it burbles and bubbles and spits like apple butter. Hot ketchup burns when it hits your skin, plus it will stain anything else it hits in the vicinity.
Ladle this gorgeous blend into jars and there you have it.
Your fries will never ever ever be the same. Ever.
Brook Hurst Stephens