Banana Ketchup

What to do about leftover bananas is always thought about in my house. At Christmas, I received a cookbook written by my favourite chef, Yotam Ottolenghi, and have adapted his recipe to make it vegan.

Turning bananas into a sauce is credited to food chemist Maria Orosa (1893-1945) in the Philippines. Visiting Americans introduced ketchup and canned goods to the nation, so she tried to make a similar condiment out of an abundant local ingredient: bananas, adding red dye to emulate the American version. Here, instead of dye, tomato paste is added. Both together, you say? It won’t work. It does! You’ll love this sweet and tangy sauce. Put it on top of eggs, rice, crispy chicken, burgers or haloumi. You might just forget that there is banana in there.

Ingredients

3tbs olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2-3 mild chillies, roughly chopped

20g ginger, roughly chopped

90g tomato paste

11/2tsp ground allspice

5 large over ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

150mls rice wine vinegar

120g coconut sugar or 90g soft brown sugar

1tbs soy sauce or 2-3 tbs coconut aminos (vegan)

2tbs fish sauce (omit for vegan version)

Method

1. Preheat oil in large saucepan on medium/high heat.

2. Cook garlic, onions, chillies and ginger for 15 mins or until onions are soft and golden.

3. Add tomato paste and allspice for two minutes, then add banana, vinegar, sugar, soy and fish sauce (if using). Stir frequently.

4. Let it cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until it is bubbling.

5. Cool slightly, transfer to food processor and blitz until smooth.

Transfer to sterilised jar, lid off for about an hour. Seal and refrigerate. Will last up to three months in fridge.

Adapted from ExtraGoodThings:OttolenghiTest Kitchen.

Lyn Hand