OLIVE’S TOMATO SAUCE
24 February, 2023
The recipe below is forty two years old, so it is absolutely tried and true.Sadly the Zyliss soft fruit peeler which was brilliant for tomatoes when in came in the red format was deleted from their range about three years ago. Whilst we inevitably wore one out every tomato season there was no complaint because it made life easy. However, the new format is not ergonomically as good and doesn’t seem to be as sharp. We have tried several brands and found none satisfactory.
So, we have headed back to the tried and true, coring, scoring and blanching tomatoes to peel them.
One of our friends, an avid cook, recently visited and added a new version to our tomato sauce repertoir, apparently Sicilian with the addition of anchovies, chilli and capers with a last minute generous handful of sweet basil leaves. We like it a lot and even better when using it, it really only takes adding olives, a few more anchovies and chilli to taste to turn it into an excellent fast Putanesca.
click here to go straight to the instructions for blanching and the Sicilian variation. Do not forget the most important thing about making preserves is the preparation of your jars..use the link below.
ANN OLIVER 24 FEBRUARY, 2023
5kg bag of ice
2.5kg – 5kg – 10kg tomatoes…scored, cored, blanched, skinned and chopped [1]
125g – 250g – 750g your best EVO
500g – 1kg – 2kg onions p/w finely chopped
50g – 100g – 200g garlic finely chopped p/w
5g – 10g – 20g Maldon sea salt
10g – 20g – 40g black pepper….freshly and coarsely crushed
2 – 4 – 8 bay leaves…fresh if you can
50g – 100g – 200g sugar…optional
50g – 100g – 200g Vine Valley white wine vinegar
5kg bag of ice
2.5kg – 5kg – 10kg tomatoes…scored, cored, blanched, skinned and chopped [1]
125g – 250g – 750g your best EVO
500g – 1kg – 2kg onions p/w finely chopped
50g – 100g – 200g garlic finely chopped p/w
5g – 10g – 20g Maldon sea salt
10g – 20g – 40g black pepper….freshly and coarsely crushed
125g – 250g – 500g….well drained anchovies [2]
3 – 6 – 9 Thai chillies finely chopped
2 – 4 – 8 bay leaves…fresh if you can
100g – 200g – 400g Lilliput capers [3]
preferably in vinegar and use this vinegar and top to the amount below
50g – 100g – 200g sugar…optional
50g – 100g – 200g Vine Valley white wine vinegar
15 – 30 – 60 sweet basil leaves
for batch quantities look left
In a wide and shallow pan, sauté the onion, garlic and seasonings in the oil until they are lightly coloured and all rawness has been cooked out. Add the remaining ingredients, stir through and then cook gently on very low heat stirring from time to time until it is reduced to a good sauce consistency.
HOW TO USE
We can never resist using some of the fresh sauce often something as simple as a pasta and we also like meat cooked in the fresh sauce.
We bottle the sauce in sterilized jars and, sometimes, as an extra safeguard further cook them in the sealed jars refer to the preserving bible and follow the instructions.
The sauce can be puréed in a blender, Thermomix or MyCook and bottled refer to the preserving bible and follow the instructions.
The sauce is the base for many dishes from our kitchen.
[1] I like to work in small batches maybe about six large tomatoes at a time. Get your tomatoes scored and cored, then set up a suitably sized pot of boiling water Before you start. You can use a bucket or large bowl but we clean and sanitise our kitchen sink and use plenty of ice [we buy a bag from the servo].
Working a few at a time, drop the prepared tomatoes into the boiling water for a couple of minutes. JUST LONG ENOUGH TO LOOSEN THE SKINS. Lift them from the pot and drop them into the ice bath. Slip the skins off when they are just cool enough to handle with barehands.
[2] Anchovies…ah anchovies! Of course we would all love to use Ortiz and if you can afford it there is no better choice. However, most of us mortals are faced with a less expensive choice. DO NOT but anchovies from the shelf of your local supermarket. They need to be kept under refrigeration, so find your local continental wholesales, for us, like Omega Foods where they are kept in the fridge. DO NOT USE THE OIL and drain them well before adding to the onion and garlic.
[3] If you use salted capers, the night before, rinse them well under cold running water and soak them over night in Vine Valley white wine vinegar.
for Nina’s Sicilian Sauce
In a wide and shallow pan, sauté the onion, garlic and seasonings in the oil until they are lightly coloured and all rawness has been cooked out. Add the anchovies, chillies and bay leaves and cook for a few minutes until the anchovies are broken down. Add remaining ingredients apart fro the basil leaves, stir through and then cook gently on very low heat stirring from time to time until it is reduced to a good sauce consistency. A couple of minutes before you are ready to bottle add the basil leaves, cook for a couple of minutes then turn the heat off. If the basil gets prolonged cooking it can become bitter.
AND IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH to have an absolutely mega tomato crop try tomato essence. Fiv kilos of tomatoes chopped, use a food processor you don’t want to crush the seeds it can make the essence bitter. Double layer of sterilised muslin and if your tomatoes are brilliant you can expect about 300g. Season it with salt and pepper and freeze it in ice block trays. Serve in chilled cocktail glasses with an excellent gin that has been in the freezer fo at least twenty four hours. Hanging method pictured right,
