Notes from my Kitchen 3 - Tomatoes
I have tomatoes to spare and am using them to make a few things. The first is a pot of pasta sauce that I can bottle and store in my fridge, ready to use anytime on pasta, sandwiches and with french fries. My children love it too.
1 large red onion or 3 shallots, peeled and sliced
1 stick of celery, sliced
1kg very ripe red tomatoes cut into quarters
olive oil
1T brown sugar
1T balsamic vinegar
1T dried oregano
Brown the onion and celery in the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, sugar, vinegar and oregano. Mix over a high heat to start the cooking process, and then turn the heat on low. Simmer with the lid off for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The tomatoes should be a deep red colour. The trick is to cook the tomatoes long enough to caramelise them, as the flavour intensifies this way.
Place in a food processor and puree. For a fine sauce pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the tomato skins. Pour into sterilised bottles. Cool and store in the fridge for up to a week.
A quick way to sterilise bottles is to place the bottle 1/3 full of boiling water into a microwave for 2 minutes.
Boil the lids in your kettle to sterilise them.
I will use this sauce on homemade gnocchi for lunch (see notes from my kitchen 1).
I am also going to make oven dried tomatoes. This recipe has been featured previously on my blog. I then use them to make a delicious anti-pasta, tapas dish or to make bruschetta.
1 cup oven dried tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup feta cheese cubes
80ml olives, stone removes and chopped
1T Italian parsley chopped
2T Olive oil
1T balsamic vinegar
Mix the above and allow to marinate in the fridge. This keeps well in an airtight container.
With my smallest tomatoes, I cut them in half and griddle them on both sides. I then drizzle over some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With this I make a salad with tomatoes, feta cheese, rocket and lemon zest. Add some anchovies or squid for more flavour. This is delicious with ciabatta bread.
1 large red onion or 3 shallots, peeled and sliced
1 stick of celery, sliced
1kg very ripe red tomatoes cut into quarters
olive oil
1T brown sugar
1T balsamic vinegar
1T dried oregano
Brown the onion and celery in the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, sugar, vinegar and oregano. Mix over a high heat to start the cooking process, and then turn the heat on low. Simmer with the lid off for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The tomatoes should be a deep red colour. The trick is to cook the tomatoes long enough to caramelise them, as the flavour intensifies this way.
Place in a food processor and puree. For a fine sauce pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the tomato skins. Pour into sterilised bottles. Cool and store in the fridge for up to a week.
A quick way to sterilise bottles is to place the bottle 1/3 full of boiling water into a microwave for 2 minutes.
Boil the lids in your kettle to sterilise them.
I will use this sauce on homemade gnocchi for lunch (see notes from my kitchen 1).
I am also going to make oven dried tomatoes. This recipe has been featured previously on my blog. I then use them to make a delicious anti-pasta, tapas dish or to make bruschetta.
1 cup oven dried tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup feta cheese cubes
1T Italian parsley chopped
2T Olive oil
1T balsamic vinegar
Mix the above and allow to marinate in the fridge. This keeps well in an airtight container.
With my smallest tomatoes, I cut them in half and griddle them on both sides. I then drizzle over some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With this I make a salad with tomatoes, feta cheese, rocket and lemon zest. Add some anchovies or squid for more flavour. This is delicious with ciabatta bread.
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