Tomato Fever

Although it seems the season is a little late this year, our tomatoes are finally ripening. In fact they are going absolultely crazy turning red in the blink of an eye and daily they over fill the boxes and bowls we are using to collect them.

We have given some away, we have eaten as many meals as we could with tomatoes as a main ingredient and still they come. So it was time to start preserving some of this precious fruit that we will feel so deprived of come winter.

Out of the bowls and boxes, I first took all the Roma and Moneymaker Tomatoes, halved them and oiled them then set them in a just warm oven (50 degrees celcius) to dry.

Then I took as many of the Cherry Tomatoes as I could and prepared them to transform into Tomato Ketchup. I used this recipe but doubled it for match my tomato haul:

Tomato Ketchup

• 1kg Tomatoes
• 1 Cup of Sugar (I used 1/2 a cup of white and 1/2 a cup of brown for taste)
• 1 Cup Malt Vinegar
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Allspice

It all went in a pot,

I brought it to the boil then simmered it until it was the right consistency. About 45 minutes.

Then I poured it all into the Magimix and whizzed it until all the skins and seeds were pulverized.

I had a preserving bottle all ready to go, poured the sauce into it and sealed it for later.

A quick taste test from the dribbles on the bench tells me YUM!

I’m going to make more of this sauce tomorrow, when a whole load more of the tomatoes will be ready but I’m going to make an ‘Adult’ version. There will garlic and chilli and mixed herbs and I can imagine it tasting DEVINE as a pizza base.