A couple of weeks ago we finished our last jar of chutney and I had a wee grumble to mum, who was visiting, that I wouldn't be able to make any this year.......brand new gardens aren't very helpful on the chutney front. But then it occurred to us both that Knockfarrel might have a glut of some of their veg, or some seconds that wouldn't make it into their boxes and restaurant deliveries......a quick email later and I had fixed up some extra glorious goodness. That wonderful load of tomatoes, onions, garlic, beetroot and marjoram, in the photo below, came to just £10 - I couldn't help working out what the tomatoes alone (all 7kg of them) would have cost me at the supermarket, and lets just say it would have been an awful lot more.
I had a wee change of plan though, once the box arrived. When I said to Jo, as he dropped off the veg, that I'd be popping into the Co-op with fingers crossed for some courgettes, and some apples too, to round out the chutney he commented he hadn't thought to mention I could have those too. So I decided to hang fire on the chutney until the next delivery, when I'll be asking for tomatoes, onions, garlic and courgette (and meanwhile wishing I could get my hands on some of the apples that are simply pouring off the trees in local gardens, mostly completely ignored). And I made tomato sauce instead.
You can probably imagine the endless amounts of tomato sauce we get through..........used in pasta, stews, pizza and soups to name just a few. I'm sure I could make the same amount again many times over to keep us fully stocked for the winter, but I have frozen enough local goodness to keep us going for quite a while. I cobbled together a recipe after a wee look around online and think I came up with a good general-purpose sauce - I've shared it below just in case you manage to get your hands on a load of tomatoes, and also so I can remember what on earth I did next time round! Let me know what you think if you do try it, or I'd love to know if you have a favourite recipe you'd be happy to share.
And what do you put in your chutney? Maybe there's something else I should be asking Jo to bring next Thursday?!
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Tomato Sauce (adjust according to the weight of tomatoes you have!)Several large glugs of olive oil
7 onions chopped
1 head of garlic finely chopped
1 fat red chilli finely chopped
1 tbsp. each rosemary, thyme and marjoram, roughly shredded
7kg tomatoes chopped
2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. tomato puree
3 tbsp. basil roughly shredded
I think the correct procedure would be to peel and core the tomatoes, I'm afraid I don't bother!
1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan (I used my jam pan and it was only just big enough). Add the onion and garlic and cook gently until onions are soft. Add the rosemary, thyme and marjoram for a few more minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and salt and gently heat until boiling. Reduce to a simmer and cook for around 1 hour until tomatoes are soft and pulpy, stirring occasionally.
3. Puree with a stick blender - take care as it is very hot.
4. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, tomato puree and basil and simmer gently (still uncovered) until it reaches a thickness that suits. I left mine for around 3 hours.
5. Allow to cool a little before freezing.
I'd love to freeze in glass jars but unfortunately we struggle for freezer space so I use good quality freezer bags instead.
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8 comments:
We would love a veg box, but have yet to find anything local, so Aldi it is for us and any of the local nurseries when I am passing. I am surprised that we got five apples off a tree we planted last year.
We also make tomato sauce and never can make enough. I jarred some last year and it kept well.
Thank you for sharing this - I'll give it a try sometime. I like simple homemade sauces for my pasta, I rarely bother to make my own, I tend to just add herbs and peppers to passata (laziness) but I keep thinking I should make big batches and freeze portions.
Oh, it all looks so good. Our little vegetable-stand-up-the-road closed last year, so this year I made do with supermarket veg. Not the same!
I never peel my tomatoes either. I figure the skin adds fiber and that's a good thing, right? Plus I like the texture.
We got plenty of tomatoes off our three plants this year but I'm afraid we ate them up instead of turning them into sauce.
Enjoy all that sunshine in your freezer! :)
Wow that veg looks amazing, I still waiting for the tomato's in the garden to turn red. Enjoy all that lovely local food
Clare x
It all looks amazing.
Gooseberry chutney is my all time favourite, you should try it next year!
Your vegebox looks so good! We used to have one from Riverford until we got our allotment. You have just reminded me that there are local vegeboxes in our new location that I need to investigate. Your tomato sauce looks so good. I usually make chilli chutney. Sarah x
Great tomato sauce. I make that too but rarely make chutney, (no one likes it very much round here), and I completely know what you mean about freezer space Julie. In Van we have a separate chest freezer, but in OXON we just have the little freezer which is part of the little fridge, so freezer bags work better than anything else. Actually, this summer I made and froze about 20 meals of chicken soups and another 20 of spaghetti sauces all in freezer bags. So I suppose the fellow who invented freezer bags should have a statue or something...lol. :D
Oh your tom sauce sounds lovely. I make mine from the greenhouse tomatoes as no-one but Charlie will eat then raw :( it always feels like a waste as I grow nice varieties, but at least I, too, have a freezer full of sauce for pizza and pasta! I stopped getting a veg box as we were struggling to get through it and the variety got boring, but I'm inspired and might start it up again! Bethxx
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