I wanted the veggie burger in the inspiration recipe below so badly that I was practically salivating while looking at the photo (and me not even a vegetarian) but didn't think that I could get it past L. as a burger. I will perhaps attempt it in his absence, though it seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to despite how delicious it looks.
I was inspired by the carrot ketchup in the recipe but, as usual, have felt the need to tweak it to my taste. I am sure that the original is delicious but, if you are going to use fish sauce, soy and ginger, why not go all the way and use Asian food related spices and vinegar rather than fennel, I thought. Also, I felt that roasting the vegetables, rather than cooking them with oil, would concentrate the sweetness of the carrots and cut down on calories. I am all for fat but two tablespoons seemed like a lot in what essentially would be a cup of condiment. Last but not least, because I used red onion and untreated apricots, my ketchup, though scrumptious, is not quite the beautiful vivid orange of the original but is flecked with little bursts of brown...
I will definitely be making this again but next time plan on roasting peaches along with the carrots. Stay tuned.
4 large carrots, washed and cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 apricots
2 tsps oil
1/4 cup sake or dry white wine
3 Tbsps rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsps fish sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger, ground
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
Preheat the oven to 400.
Place the carrots, red onion and garlic on a foil lined baking tray. Drizzle with the oil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and allow to cool in the oven.
When carrots are cool, tip into a large bowl or blender bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Whiz until as smooth as possible. Add a bit of water if you need help achieving the consistency of tomato ketchup; I added about 1/4 cup in increments of a tablespoon at a time. I considered passing it through a sieve in order to achieve a completely smooth consistency but was too lazy to follow through and decided to go for a rustic rather than classic ketchup.
And there you have it. This is good with veggie burgers but I can see it on salmon burgers as well or as a dipping sauce for cold shrimp. It would also taste good as a non-traditional condiment for falafel. I will also admit to spreading it on celery sticks for a snack.
Inspiration recipe, here.