Tomato-Orange Jam
September 27th, 2009 | Published in Sauce Recipes, Vegetable Recipes
I started out with a lot of tomatoes to use up. I canned some, I made salsa and pasta sauce. And then I started to think about ketchup. Why couldn’t I make some kick-ass ketchup? I love ketchup on French Fries—even in its plebeian commercial persona—(my junk food achilles). Surely I could improve on this condiment that’s become such a staple it’s a commodity.
This recipe sprang from that inspiration, along with about 6 other stunning, special ketchups. Or, as I call them, “jams”. Enjoy, and look for the others here this winter.
By the way, I am almost sad to say that this is nearly as good when made with plain, store-bought, canned tomatoes. I guess all of these tangy, bold spices and flavors could bring a soggy string bean to life.
photo: Nicole
Tomato-Orange Jam Recipe
Makes 1 1/2 cups
- 12 garlic cloves
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
- Peel from 1/4 navel orange
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 3 1/2 cup peeled, chopped tomatoes, or 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, chopped (reserving the juice)
- 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red chili flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Purée the garlic, ginger, orange peel, and orange juice in a blender. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the mustard seeds and fennel seeds and sauté for 1 minute. Add the garlic mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes (with the reserved juice), vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper, and cayenne and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the jam (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours (lower the heat as necessary).
- Transfer the jam to a bowl. Cool the jam, uncovered. When the jam is cool, chill it in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 2 days (or up to 2 weeks) to allow the flavors to develop.
tomato jam cooking, photo: Nicole
