Tomato Ketchup and cocktail sauce

Prep time: 5 min • Cook time: 5 to 10 min • Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients

½ cup tomato paste, sugar- and dextrose-free
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup apple juice, unsweetened
Pinch onion powder
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves*

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over very low heat for about 5 minutes, continually stirring to prevent scorching. If you want the ketchup to thicken further, you can continue to keep it at a very low simmer for a few more minutes.
Cool completely and store in the refrigerator in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. It will keep refrigerated for about 2 weeks.

Note: The ketchup is heated to encourage all the flavors meld; it will also slightly thicken.

The cloves are important to make the ketchup more robust and aromatic, but you can omit it.

Variation: To make cocktail sauce mix ½ cup ketchup with 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish. (Find it in the refrigerated case at the grocery store.) Add a dash of hot sauce and stir. Adjust horseradish to suit your tastes.

Perfect with chilled shrimp!