Mushroom Catsup Food

MUSHROOM KETCHUP

Steps:

• Wipe fresh mushrooms clean with a damp cloth, or brush them clean. Avoid washing them if possible; if it is necessary, swish them rapidly through a bowl of water and lift and drain them promptly. Trim off any discolored stem ends or damaged portions.
• Slice the mushrooms thinly (a food processor fitted with the thin-slicing disc makes short work of this task) and mix them thoroughly with the pickling salt in a ceramic bowl. Cover mushrooms with a cloth and let them stand 24 hours, stirring occasionally. They will become very dark (the finished ketchup will be approximately the color of black bean soup).
• At least an hour before the end of the salting period, combine the dried boletus mushrooms with the 3 cups hot tap water; let them stand, covered, until completely soft.
• Lift the dried soaked mushrooms from their liquid with a slotted spoon (this is to eliminate any grit that may be in the liquid) and place them in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Let soaking liquid settle for a minute or two, then carefully pour it over the mushrooms, stopping before any grit is poured out. Puree the soaked mushrooms, then pour the puree into a saucepan.
• Without rinsing the processor or blender container, puree the salted mushrooms; add this puree to the saucepan.
• Place about 1/2 cup of the vinegar in the blender and add the shallots and garlic ; process them to a puree. Add this puree to the mixture in the saucepan, together with the rest of the vinegar, the allspice , cloves, mace , bay leaves, ginger and pepper.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, lower heat, and simmer the ketchup, uncovered, stirring it often, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the tiny fragments of mushroom are very soft, almost jelly-like, and the ketchup is thick.
• To test for correct consistency, pour a spoonful onto a saucer and let it stand 10 minutes, with the pot off the heat; if very little or no liquid seeps from the solids, the ketchup has thickened enough. If it does not pass this test, resume the cooking for as long as necessary.
• Press ketchup through a sieve to remove the bay leaves and whole spices , then puree it again, in batches if necessary, in a blender or food processor, running the machine until the texture is velvety smooth.
• Return ketchup to the rinsed-out pan and bring it to a full boil again over medium-high heat, stirring it constantly. Stir in the sherry.
• Ladle the boiling-hot ketchup into hot, clean half-pint or pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Seal jars with new 2-piece canning lids according to manufacturer's directions and process for 15 minutes (for either size jar) in a boiling-water bath. Cool, label and store the jars. Let ketchup mellow for a few weeks before serving it. This keeps for at least a year in a cool pantry. Recipe Source: by Helen Witty (Workman) Reprinted with permission.

WILD MUSHROOM KETCHUP

Steps:

• Crush or chop the allspice and cloves. Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor, being very careful to coarsely pulse them in small batches, as over-processing will give a cloudy sauce.
• Combine the ground mushrooms with the salt and remaining ingredients except the water in a stock pot.
• Assess the amount of liquid, adding some of the water to moisten until the mixture is wet and slushy (dryer mushroom like polypores may take up to 1 qt of water, where boletes and cultivated mushrooms might take half that) Transfer the pot to a burner and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and leave overnight to cool and infuse. Transfer it to a smaller container that will fit in your refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, warm the mushrooms and the liquid. Pour the mixture into a strainer lined with cheesecloth and allow to drain (you may need to work in batches. After the liquid has drained, squeeze the cheesecloth with a few handfuls of mushroom at a time to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Reduce the liquid until roughly 4 cups remain (oruntil you like the flavor, it should taste a bit like light soy) then pour intoa labeled container, chill and refrigerate until needed.
• The ketchup will keep for a long time.

MUSHROOM KETCHUP

Steps:

• Clean mushrooms (don't wash them!) and then quarter them.
• Put the mushrooms and all the other ingredients into a pan and bring to boil, stirring frequently.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer gently for 30 - 40 minutes.
• Allow to cool slightly and then liquidise in a blender.
• Return to a clean pan and bring to the boil before pouring into warm bottles,.
• Cover immediately.

PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM KETCHUP

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine mushrooms, ginger root, shallot slices and salt (which draws liquid from the mushrooms). Toss lightly to mix. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 2 days.
• In a medium, 3-quart to 4-quart saucepan, combine the mushroom mixture and liquid, vinegar, peppercorns, allspice, mace, ground ginger and nutmeg. Place over high heat and boil until the mushroom liquid evaporates; do not let mushrooms brown.
• Add chicken or beef broth to mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook at a lively simmer for an hour. With a blender or food processor, process the mixture in batches until it has a medium-fine texture, similar to a tapenade.
• Transfer to jars or other covered containers and allow to cool. Store, refrigerated, for as long as two weeks or, frozen, for as long as three months. Serve chilled or at room temperature, as a condiment with fish, poultry or meats.

MUSHROOM CATSUP

Steps:

• Chop the mushrooms and place in a mixing bowl.
• Sprinkle with the salt and set aside for 24 hours.
• ,stirring occasionally.
• Drain the mushrooms and rinse in cold water.
• Place the mushrooms in a saucepan with the onion and garlic.
• Add the pickling spice and vinegar.
• Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat, cover the pan and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
• until mushrooms are soft.
• With the back of a wooden spoon push the mixture through a nylon strainer placed over a mixing bowl.
• Return the mixture to a clean saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Pour into the prepared bottles, leaving 1" headspace, seal at once and sterilize by putting bottles in large pot of water on rack and bring to boil.
• Simmer for 20 minutes.
• Remove bottles and tighten screw caps.

HERB-ROASTED BEEF RUMP CAP & MUSHROOM KETCHUP

Steps:

• First, make the ketchup. Pour 150ml boiled water from the kettle over the dried mushrooms and leave them to soak. When cool enough to handle, drain and give them a squeeze, reserving the water. Tip into a food processor with the portobello mushrooms and pulse until finely chopped.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan set over a medium heat, add the shallots and cook for 5 mins until softened and turning golden. Tip the chopped mushrooms into the pan, season and cook for 10 mins, stirring occasionally until all the liquid evaporates. Stir in the sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce and simmer for 5 mins, then pour over the reserved mushroom stock and simmer for 5 mins more until you have a thick mushroom purée. Scrape into a food processor or a blender, and blitz again until smooth. Can be made up to four days ahead and kept chilled.
• To cook the beef, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan set over a medium heat. Season the beef heavily with salt, then carefully lay the beef fat-side down in the hot oil and fry it to render the fat until golden brown - this will take about 10 mins. Turn it over and fry it on the other other side until browned.
• Lift the beef onto a plate, then add the herbs to the pan and sit the beef on top, fat-side up. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 30 mins for rare (the core will be 45C on a meat thermometer), 35 mins for medium- rare or 40 mins for medium. Once cooked to your liking, leave the pan on the side to rest for 10 mins.
• While the beef cooks, remove the ketchup from the fridge, if you've chilled it, so that it comes to room temperature and spoon into a side dish. Once the beef has rested, lift onto a board and carve into thin slices, and serve with the ketchup, watercress and chips, if you like, or your favourite roast dinner sides.