In today’s pairing column, which you can read here, I promise a recipe for cherry ketchup to go with a Kenwood 2012 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and beef sliders. Here it is. When slathered on a rare slider or burger, the bing cherry ketchup enhances the resonance between the burger and wine.Image may be NSFW.
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Bing Cherry Ketchup • Makes about 2 pints
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed and minced
- 2 pounds pitted Bing cherries
- ¾ cup cane sugar or brown sugar
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cinnamon stick, about 2 inches long
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cardamom pod, lightly crushed
- 1 teaspoons whole white peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Put the shallot, garlic, cherries, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, bay, cardamom, peppercorns, salt and red pepper flakes into a large saucepan, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low, cover and cook gently until the cherries are very soft, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Use tongs to remove and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
- Pass the mixture through a food mill into a clean saucepan.
- Set the pureed mixture over very low heat, add the clove and lemon zest and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is quite thick.
- Remove from the heat, cool, taste and correct for salt, acid and sugar.
- Ladle into glass jars, cover and refrigerate for up to 6 weeks. To keep longer, process the ketchup according to manufacturer’s instructions and keep in the pantry for up to one year.
