Thread: For those with lots of tomatos...

I have tomatos galore right now....

I was looking for a recipe to make a basic sauce that I could freeze and add to when thawed for spaghetti sauce, bbq sauce, marinara etc. I think I hit the jackpot here and its soooo easy! It got GREAT reviews.

I really hate to can and frozen always tastes so much better to me. I love this idea!



It's important to use tomatoes that are well-ripened and it's best to pick them the day you make the sauce if that's an option. I'd estimate that it takes about 6-8 large tomatoes to make a cup of sauce, but make as much as you can because this tastes wonderful in the winter when you're dying for the flavor of fresh tomatoes.

Put tomatoes in the sink and rinse well with cold water. Cut out stem area and discard. Cut each tomato into pieces about 1 inch square. (Don't make the pieces too large or the tomatoes won't puree easily.)

Using the food processor with the steel blade, puree diced tomatoes in batches and add to large heavy stock pot. The puree should be nearly all liquidized when you add it to the pot.

Turn the heat as low as you can get it and cook the mixture until it is reduced by at least one half and as thick as you want it. I usually cook my sauce at least 6-8 hours to condense it down to the thickness I want. Your house will smell delightfully tomatoey while you cook this. I like to use a rubber scraper to scrape off the carmelized tomato that sticks to the side of the pot as the level decreases and do that about once every half hour.

When sauce is condensed and thick, put into individual plastic containers and let cool on the counter for an hour or so. When sauce is cooled, snap on plastic lids and freeze. This will last for at least a year in the freezer.

When you're using the sauce, if you want a more pure tomato sauce that doesn't have any seeds you can put it through the food mill after it's thawed. Freezing the sauce this way with no added seasonings at all creates endless possibilities for using it. Add garlic, oregano, basil, or any other seasonings you want when you use the sauce to create soups, stews, pasta sauces, or other dishes this winter.

Thanks!

This is my first year growing tomatoes and I finally have some. They are small but I'll get a few this year but not enough to do anything with lol..


I hope next year is better...

For those of you with lots of tomatoes~ I AM VERY JEALOUS!!! Maybe this next year my goal can be to get a tomato plant to survive!!

Enjoy those tomatoes for me too!

I have tons, lots still green, but this is a great base recipe, many thanks and salsa, salsa, salsa....makes winter easier to think about!

catdance, whats your recipe for fresh salsa? I want mine like the mexican restaurants. I dont like mine to taste like a store bought salsa. I make a delicious salsa made from canned tomatoes. OHHH I want some now. lol

Lisa I make Pico de Gallo (fresh Salsa) all the time and we are eating tons of it. All you do is dice onion, tomatos, jalapeno peppers, a bit of cilantro, lemon or lime juice and salt.

So yummy! If you dice the jalapeno with the seeds your salsa will be hotter or remove them for it milder.

Do you can yours too?

Originally Posted by lisarae

Do you can yours too?

If you are asking me, no...I don't can at all. My Mom always did but I love fresh and frozen so I have 3 freezers..lol. We butcher our own beef and pig so we need 2 for them and one is all stuff I put up frozen, like our corn, jams, shredded zucchini etc. I'm even going to try hashbrowns from our own spuds this week!

I had never done anything with tomatos so I did a search and came up with this. I don't like jarred salsa much I always make fresh, out of season I just buy the stuff. I know I'm weird..lol

FYI if your tomatoes plants have blight (SP?) you cannot process the tomatoes. Its a huge problem in Maine this year.