Ever since I got the use of
my arm back I’ve been freezing tomatoes for winter use. Some people like to
simply freeze the whole tomato, but I think tomatoes turn to mush when treated
that way. I stick to scalding the tomatoes in boiling water, slipping off the
skins, chopping them and cooking them a little before freezing. The cooking
kills the enzymes that otherwise continue to work on the tomato cells.
The entire top shelf of our
freezer is filled with cottage cheese cartons full of tomatoes. Yesterday, faced
with half a peck of ripe Roma tomatoes, I just couldn’t face another tomato
preparation session. I had a notion to make tomato sauce, but all the recipes I
found called for the scalding and peeling step.
But wait a minute, I
thought. Why do the tomatoes have to be peeled? We eat the skins of fresh
tomatoes without a thought. I decided to take a different approach. Our
tomatoes are grown organically, so there’s no pesticide residue to worry about.
I washed the tomatoes, cut off the stem end, cut them in half, scooped out most
of the seeds with my finger, and threw them into the food processor. I also put
in a couple of small onions, a carrot, some garlic cloves, and a stalk of
celery.
I pureed this mélange in
three batches, adding each batch to a three-quart pot with a quarter-cup of
olive oil. After simmering for two hours, the mixture was reduced by one-third.
The result was six cups of slightly chunky, thick tomato sauce.
That’s the lazy cook’s
approach and it worked out just fine. One side benefit is that the sauce is
loaded with heart-healthy fiber. Another is that it used a lot less
electricity. I think it’s a good deal all around.
Now, what am I going to do
with the remainder of this year’s tomato crop?
Copyright
2013 by Shirley Domer
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