People are often surprised that, as a ‘foodie’, I like certain foods deemed ‘junk’ by most. I am talking about tin spaghetti, plastic cheese, chicken nuggets, fish fingers... that sort of thing. I think really they are secretly pleased because, in all honesty, I have never met someone who didn’t secretly have some such vice. For me it goes back to childhood; my sister and I were only allowed these foods as treats so it still feels a little bit naughty indulging in them from time to time.

When we were in NZ, our host Dawn cooked a magnificent fry up the morning of the wedding (sadly, I have no photos, otherwise it would have been included in my post on the subject). As part of this feast, she cooked something I would never have dared try – ‘tin style’ spaghetti in tomato sauce. It was brilliant! Even my Mum (hater of all things junk) commented on how good it was. The trick was that she did not try to make it posh. There were no herbs or aromatics, it was just simple, sweet tomato sauce with intentionally overcooked spaghetti. Just like the tin... but better.

Now let me get something straight before you all give up on me now: I do not think tomato ketchup should be or ever would be labelled as junk – I’ve never met anyone who didn’t eat it. The above is relevant because, until recently, I was also of the opinion that this was something that one should not try to replicate, better to leave that to Mr Heinz. But, here's the thing, Dawn's tomato ketchup was homemade too.

I had forgotten all about this revelation until I was watching Saturday Kitchen and the host was making some Tommy K to go with fish and chips. It was so simple, he just added equal parts vinegar and sugar and a couple of tins of tomatoes. 

I decided to spice it up a bit and make a Bloody Mary variation, but you could just skip the Tabasco, Worcester sauce and pepper if you want the original Tommy K.

This recipe makes 300ml. It could be doubled or tripled if you want more, you may just have to simmer the tomatoes for longer. 

I hope I don’t lose half my readership by saying this, but I don’t think I’ll be buying it again…

Ingredients

Method

Put the tomatoes in a small saucepan with the vinegar and sugar and simmer over a low heat for half an hour.

Liquidise the mixture in a food processor and then push through a sieve into a bowl to remove the pith, using a spoon to push the most stubborn bits through (you should be able to get all but approximately 1 tbsp of pith through). You don’t have to blend first, but it will make it easier to sieve. Likewise, you can skip the sieving if you don’t mind a slightly grainy texture.

Sift the cornflour into the mixture and whisk it in before returning the mixture to the saucepan. Continue whisking over a medium heat until thickened. Season with salt.

Add the Worcester sauce, Tabasco and pepper to make a Bloody Mary ketchup.

Pour into a sterilised bottle or jar. Store in the fridge once opened.