Banana Ketchup

Total Time: 15 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons annatto oil (see note)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 bay leaf

Recipe

• 1 heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. add the garlic and tomato paste and stir to combine, cooking 2-3 minutes until the tomato paste breaks down and melts into the onion and garlic.
• 2 add the mashed banana and stir until they pick up the reddish-orange hue from the annatto oil and tomato paste. pour in the vinegar and water, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
• 3 add the brown sugar, black pepper, ground clove, salt, and soy sauce and stir to combine. drop the bay leaf into the pan and bring mixture to a boil. reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes. remove from heat and discard the bay leaf.
• 4 once cool enough, pour mixture into food processor or blender and puree until smooth (i only pureed about 2/3 of the mixture, adding back the 1/3 that wasn't pureed for a bit of texture). if the banana ketchup is too thick, it can be watered down with additional water. taste for seasoning and add more sugar if a sweeter ketchup is desired.
• 5 store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
• 6 optional: for a spicier version, add 1-2 chopped thai chili peppers or 1 small jalapeno pepper with the onions and sautee. continue with the rest of the recipe as directed.
• 7 note: you can vegetable oil if you don't want to make annatto oil. to make annatto oil - combine 2 cups of canola oil, 1/2 cup annatto seeds, 2 tsps whole black peppercorns, and 1 bay leaf in a large saucepan over moderately high heat. warm the oil until it just begins to bubble. remove from the heat and set aside for 1-2 hours to steep. strain through a fine mesh strainer, discarding the solids. store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.