Mushroom ketchup

Looks awful, tastes amazing.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 250g of shiitake mushrooms (can sub for chestnut, button, enoki, oyster or chanterelle)
• 250g of portobello mushrooms
• 20g of dried wild mushrooms
• 60ml of malt vinegar (distilled white worked fine for me)
• 2 tbsp of dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground mace (didn’t bother with this)
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins brand, Whole Foods attempt is dismal)
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• vegetable oil
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

To begin, place a large pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. Add the onion and sweat until translucent.

Finely chop the chestnut and large flat mushrooms then add to the pan with a splash more oil. Sweat down until soft.

Boil a kettle and pour 100ml of hot water over the dried mushrooms. After about 5 minutes the dried mushrooms should be soft. Reserve the stock and add the rehydrated mushrooms to the pan.

Add the nutmeg, mace and garlic powder to the pan, stir for 30 seconds then add the rest of the ingredients, including the mushroom liquid. Simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring to avoid any sticking.

Transfer to a blender and blitz until smooth.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. To adjust the consistency, return to the pan and reduce to thicken, or add a splash of water and re-season to loosen it.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. (We used it for a lot longer than a month, seemed fine).