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+-- Thread: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. (/showthread.php?tid=121150)
I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - Harborwitch - 05-06-2011
We went to a little restaurant in Warden today, just exploring. It's called the Euro Restaurant & Lounge and the food was pretty darn good. We had excellent clam chowder - beautifully flavored, rich with the taste of butter, bacon, clams, & thyme and LOADED with tender clams. We followed our cups of soup with sandwiches which were really good. (The lunch special was "blueberry dumplings with choice of soup or salad"???)
Now comes the desperation - "spicy European ketchup"! OMG this was good. Bob asked, but the recipe is a family secret. It tasted like, perhaps, apples (cider, sauce, butter???), a bit of spice on the finish, and a spice or flavor that I know - but couldn't quite get. It wasn't red like a tomato ketchup, sort of brownish, clear, with tiny darker speckles (like a spice - cloves???).
Does anyone have a clue??? I googled it and found nothing that sounded quite like it. Bob tried a "European strawberry doughnut" for dessert and I did find that it is a Polish pastry so that kind of makes me think . . . Poland?
Any help would be appreciated - I would love to make this, but if I have to try to buy it . . . oh well.
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - DFen911 - 05-06-2011
Try 2 parts ketchup to 1 part Tapatio. Maybe a bit less on the tapatio.
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - Mare749 - 05-07-2011
I might be able to find out for you next time I visit the West Side Market. You're probably right about it having a fruit base.
The doughnut that Bob ate is probably called a "paczki", pronounced "poochkey" and is very popular for Fat Tuesday celebrations among Eastern Europeans.
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - Harborwitch - 05-07-2011
Thanks Maryann - those are the "doughnuts".
Denise that wasn't it. It was sweet, a little spicy, apple-y (is that a word???), like really clear apple butter with a little kick. Does that make sense???
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - cjs - 05-07-2011
Sharon, my suggestion is to scout out local cookbooks - the ones that the 'natives' contribute their family recipes. Bet you'll find it in one of those.
I do have a lot of them from this area. what was the sandwich it was used with? I agree that apple butter was probably the base. Apple butter rules up here.
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - Mare749 - 05-07-2011
Sharon, does this sound close?
http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/fruits/r/cranberrysauce.htm
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - Harborwitch - 05-07-2011
Maryann that's not quite it. No cranberries. The "ketchup" was to use on the fries or tater tots. Bob had a "cheesesteak" type sandwich and I had a Reuben. The Reuben had a really dark dressing on it, very good.
Jean we're going to the Farmers' Market here in a few, there might be one of those cookbooks there - and that's a great idea. I haven't seen a local cookbook yet - I think I might see if we can buy some of it. That way I can have a comparison. This stuff is beyond good. I think I might even look in some of my cookbooks from Medina, I'm not sure there's that much difference between German and "European".
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - DFen911 - 05-07-2011
Maybe this?
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/victoria-plum-or-damson-ketchup.html
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - cjs - 05-07-2011
May not be either one, but I copied both - I love to make these condiments!! Thanks.
Re: I need help! I'm hooked on European Ketchup. - HomeCulinarian - 05-07-2011
Just looked in my Czech and Hungarian cookbooks and don't find anything that sounds like you describe. Noticed that they used juniper and bay in many of the sauces. Would that be the mystery flavor?