Delicious Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Chili Ketchup Recipe – Home Canning

In our household, we have moved away from purchasing processed pre-made foods and  more and more towards cooking foods from scratch. With that in mind we are now making our own homemade sauces, jams, preserves, relishes and mustards.

It is definitely simpler to buy it all of course but I really like knowing exactly what I am eating. These days it is getting harder and harder to determine what all those chemicals in processed foods actually are and what they are doing to our bodies.

roasted red bell pepper and chilli ketchup recipe

One recipe that the cook in the house tried recently was for Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Chili Ketchup from the Best-Ever Book of Preserves by Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mayhew. This turned out really delicious and with a bit of a mild kick due to the addition of the chili.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Chilli Ketchup

Ketchup with a mild kick due to the addition of the chilli

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb red bell peppers
  • 8 oz shallots Use a mild onion if shallots are unavailable
  • 1 green cooking apple
  • 4 red chillies
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 sprig parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp coriander seed
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp arrowroot

Instructions
 

  • Core the apples and chop roughly.
    chop green apples
  • Remove the seeds from the chillies and chop
  • Place the red peppers under a broiler and grill for 10 minutes or so or until the skins turn black
  • Place the peppers in a plastic bag and leave for 5-10 minutes
  • Remove the peppers from the bag and peel off the skin and remove the seeds. Chop roughly
  • Put the shallots into a bowl of water and leave for 5 minutes
  • Drain the shallots, then peel them and chop them
  • In a pan, combine the shallots, apple pieces, chilis and red peppers
    red bell pepper chili
  • Create a litte bag of herbs using a square of cheesecloth and add the thyme, parsley, bay leaf and coriander seeds. Add the bag to the pan
  • Add the water to the pan and bring to the boil
  • Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes
  • Remove from the heat and cool for 10-15 minutes
  • Remove the herb bag and then puree the rest of the ingredients in a food processor.
  • Press the mixture through a strainer and place the puree into a clean pan
  • Keep 1 tbsp of the vinegar and then add the rest to the puree
  • Add the salt and sugar to the pan
  • Stir and bring to the boil
  • Simmer for 45 minutes
  • Mix the 1 tbsp of vinegar with the arrowroot and then stir into the puree. This should help to thicken the sauce so place back on the heat and stir for a few minutes until it does thicken slightly
  • Remove from the heat and pour into sterilized bottes
  • Seal and store in a cool dark place. We store ours in the fridge