Mushroom Ketchup

 I happened to have a whole box of mushrooms that are almost past their use by date. I love experimenting with single ingredients to see what I could make with it. I actually made 2 different "ketchup" recipes using mushrooms, both are very different. This first recipe is more like a thick sauce. It's quite mild and is a little bit like tomato ketchup but with more depth and umami. It has a pleasant mushroom smell, and a little bit like hoisin sauce. I used my cheap Thermomix (aka Belini) to make this sauce, to save energy stirring. I stored the sauce in a cool dark place for a year and the flavours definitely developed nicely. 

A note about cooking this sauce. The sauce has a very strong vinegar smell as you are cooking it. In fact, my kids put a clothes peg on their nose because it was too "stinky" for them. Storing the sauce for a couple of weeks before use is a must! It helps to mellow out that harsh vinegar taste. 

INGREDIENTS

675 gm large flat mushrooms, thinly sliced

30 gm dried porcini mushrooms

500 ml (2 cups) white wine vinegar

3 large golden shallots, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

2 fresh bay leaves

4 whole cloves

3 large mace blades (see note)

½ tsp each ground ginger and freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp ground allspice

60 ml (¼ cup) dry sherry

METHOD

(original method)

1. Place mushrooms in a large non-reactive bowl, scatter with 4½ tsp fine sea salt, mix to combine, cover and stand for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. One hour before end of salting period, combine porcini and 750ml hot water in a bowl and stand until rehydrated (1 hour), then remove with a slotted spoon (reserve soaking liquid). Process porcini in a food processor, add liquid and process to combine, then transfer to a large saucepan. Process salted mushrooms in a food processor until a smooth purée forms, add to saucepan.

2. Process 125ml vinegar in a food processor, with shallot and garlic until finely chopped. Add to mushrooms, with bay leaves, spices and remaining vinegar. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are soft and ketchup is thick (1-1½ hours). To test for correct consistency, place a spoonful onto a saucer and stand for 10 minutes. If very little or no liquid seeps from the ketchup, the ketchup is ready. Press through a coarse sieve (discard solids), then process in batches, in a blender or food processor, until very smooth.

3. Return ketchup to a clean saucepan and bring it to the boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sherry, then ladle ketchup into sterilised bottles, leaving a 2cm-gap at the top. Seal bottles, cover with water in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature and store in a cool dark place until flavours develop (2-3 weeks). Serve as a condiment to roast meat.

My Belini method: 

1. Place mushrooms in a large non-reactive bowl, scatter with 4½ tsp fine sea salt, mix to combine, cover and stand for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. One hour before end of salting period, combine porcini and 750ml hot water in a bowl and stand until rehydrated (1 hour), then remove with a slotted spoon (reserve soaking liquid). Process porcini in a food processor, add liquid and process to combine, then transfer to a large saucepan. Process salted mushrooms in a food processor until a smooth purée forms, add to saucepan.

2. Transfer everything (including shallot, garlic, spices, vinegar and bay leaves) into the Belini bowl and cook on steam for 1-1 1/2 hours). When all the liquid had evaporated, the ketchup is ready to blend. Check consistency, if you're happy with the thickness then proceed to step 3, if not, cook for another 10-20 mins until it reached your desired consistency.

3. Stir in sherry, then ladle ketchup into sterilised bottles, leaving a 2cm-gap at the top. Seal bottles, cover with water in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature and store in a cool dark place until flavours develop (2-3 weeks). Serve as a condiment to roast meat.

Recipe taken from this website https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipes/browse-all/mushroom-ketchup-10795