Summer is here, holidays and the tomatoes all you keen gardeners have planted and lovingly looked after during this Covid times are almost here too.
The recipe I'm sharing today gives you a way of bottling the sweet and intense flavours of your ripest tomatoes for those colder months when, fresh, they have very little flavour.
Passata is a simple way of preserving tomatoes so - if sterilised- they last for months.
I'm lazy and not a gardener so, I just make sure to sun ripe mine until they are bright red and skip the sterilising step as I only make a couple of jars at the time.
Nothing but salt goes on them to keep the pure tomato flavour and so they adjust to any recipe and to the flavours of any cuisine. The combinations are endless. Think pasta sauce, pizza, soups, stews, anywhere where tomatoes are needed.
Passata di Pomodoro
Yields 2 jars
2 kg ripe roma tomatoes
2 tsp chunky sea salt
Cut the tomatoes in quarters and add to a medium size pot along with the chunky salt. Bring to a quick boil and cook for 10-15 minutes. Enough to soften the pulp but keeping the fresh tomato flavour.
Cool down for a few minutes just so its easy to handle and pass through a food mill if you have one or through a normal fine metal sieve, using the back of a spoon to press as many juices and pulp as possible. You want to only see the dry-ish skin and seeds left.
If you want to keep them for long make sure to sterilise your glass jars firsthand, otherwise, do as me and pour boiling water over the clean jars ( I do this over the sink) until the water overflows and leave for 5 minutes. Pour water out, dry and fill with the tomato sauce. Put the lid on and cool down before refrigerating. With this method they last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
Comments