Tomatoes in jars

Appendix 1

Some Basic Tomato Recipes

Rosted garlic tomato soup

Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup

Ingredients

Core the tomatoes and cut them in half. Place them cut side up on a foil covered cookie sheet with the onion and garlic. Brush all with olive oil. Bake at 400˚ for about an hour, or until the vegetables are roasted and slightly caramelized. Place the baked ingredients in a large saucepan with the chicken broth and basil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Puree with an immersible blender (or in small batches in a blender) until smooth. Add cream to taste.

fried green tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk. In a second bowl, combine the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Dip the tomato slices into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place them in a single layer in the skillet and cook until golden on both sides and fork tender. Repeat until all slices are cooked. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Bruscetta with tomatoes

Bruschetta with Fresh Tomatoes & Garlic

Ingredients

Bring medium sauce pan of water to a boil. Cut across at the stem end of the tomatoes and drop them into boiling water. Cook until skin of tomatoes begins to split. Transfer tomatoes to bowl of iced water. Peel and seed tomatoes, then roughly chop. Place in strainer over bowl for 20 to 30 minutes to drain excess water. Brush bread lightly with olive oil and place over hot grill or under broiler until golden on each side. Put tomatoes, garlic, capers, and basil in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add oil and mix. Spoon the tomato mixture over each bread slice.

tomato paste

Tomato Paste

Ingredients

Score a cross on the bottom of each tomato using a sharp knife. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water, drop into ice cold water, then peel. Cut the core out and remove all the seeds and chop. This should yield approximately 4 quarts. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to each quart. Place the tomatoes and salt in a large pot and simmer over a low heat for around 1 hour, stirring often to prevent any burning. Remove from the heat and press through a fine sieve or process through a food mill. Return the tomatoes to the pot and continue to cook very slowly until the paste holds its shape on a spoon, approximately 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent any sticking.

Spoon into hot sterilized jars to within 1" of top. Drip olive oil to cover and seal in a hot water bath for 30 minutes. Insure that the lids have vacuum sealed, or the paste will spoil. Alternatively, you can fill ice cube trays with the paste, freeze, and remove cubes to freezer bags for later use.

Catsup

Tomato Catsup

Ingredients

In a heavy saucepan, combine the tomatoes, onion, and pepper and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes on medium heat. Puree this mixture in a blender and return to the pot. Place the celery seeds, mustard seeds, and cinammon sticks in a muslim bag and add to the pot. Add the honey, salt, and vinegar. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally until thick. Remove the spice bag. Ladle the hot catsup into half pint plastic containers, hot-water seal or freeze until needed.

twhole omatoes

Meatless Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

Wash the tomatoes and dip them in boiling water until the skins split. Dip in cold water and slip off skins. Remove the cores and quarter the tomatoes. Boil uncovered for 20 minutes in large saucepan. Put the tomatoes through a food mill or sieve. Saute the onions, garlic, celery or peppers, and mushrooms (if desired) in vegetable oil until tender. Combine the sauted vegetables and tomatoes and add the remainder of spices, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until thick enough for serving. At this time, the initial volume will have been reduced by nearly one-half. Stir frequently to avoid burning – takes about 25 minutes. Serve, or cool and fill plastic containers and place in freezer.

tomato sauce

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. Add basil. Season to taste. Serve over pasta.

no-cook tomato sauce

No Cook Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

Combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil in a non-metal bowl. Stir in salt. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit at room temperature at least 2 hours, or as long as 10 hours.

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. Pour uncooked sauce over hot pasta, and toss. Add grated Parmesan cheese to your liking.

tomato juice

Tomato Juice

Select some tomatoes that are ripe and juicy. Wash them and remove the stems and cores. Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and place them in a an appropriate sized pot. Simmer until until soft while stirring as needed. Put through a sieve to remove the seeds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in refrigerator to cool.

Soufflé

Tomato and Cheese Soufflé

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 375˚. Peel and remove seeds from the tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes until very fine. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the tomatoes and bouillon. Cook until the juices have been completely cooked away. Stir in the tomato paste and sugar. Remove from the heat. Blend in the flour.

Stir in the milk. Cook over medium heat until the mixture barely begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and beat in the yolks, one at a time. Transfer to a large bowl. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Fold them carefully into the base. Pour into the buttered soufflé dish. Bake in a preheated oven for 17 to 20 minutes, or until well risen and browned on top. Serve at once.