It's TOMATO SAUCE time!

It's September, the most wonderful time of the year for... TOMATOES!

At the end of the summer the tomato plants give us their last effort and we can't possibly eat them all so this is the time when I surround myself with cases of PLUM TOMATOES and make TOMATO SAUCE for basically a week straight. My supply usually lasts me a year and I have enough to give to friends and family.

It's a pain in the ass... but it's worth it!





UTENSILS:
2 bowls
1 tall pot
1 large pot
hand sifter OR juicer with tomato sauce adapter
jars, lids OR if you have a large freezer just a whole lot of tupperware.

IF YOU'RE JARING
To properly preserve the sauce in a jar:
1. Clean the jars with water and soap (dishwasher is fine too)
2. Let them dry in the oven (set to low or 200F or 100C) so that there's no water residue before you put the sauce in
3. Clean the new lids (always use new lids) with water and soap and dry them in the oven as well
4. The plastic rings can be reused, if so clean them with water and lemon or water and vinaigre then dry them with a paper towel.

TO STERILIZE AND VACUUM SEAL
1. Fill the jars up to 1 inch (2 cm) off the rim. Make sure that the rim is CLEAN.
2. Close them with lids and rings. Push on the top: yes, it should go up and down.
3. Put them in a tall pot, with a towel at the bottom so the jars don't rub against each other. Fill the pot up with cold water, about 1 inch over the top of the jars.
4. Bring to a boil and then boil for about 40 minutes. Let it cool down.
5. Now you should have heard the lid go POP! It should be all the way flat, nice and vacuum sealed. If it's not it means it didn't vacuum seal and you should keep the jar in the fridge and consume the product within a day or two.

HOW TO MAKE THE ACTUAL SAUCE

Ingredients per 1kg of plum tomatoes (about 10 toamtoes)
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
1 small onion

Clean everything thoroughly and carefully. No need to peel anything, the sifter will get rid of later.
Put everything in a pot with a splash of water on the bottom (so the veggies don't stick to it).
Cook till the carrots are cooked.
Sift.
Now take all the discarded peals and everything and sift those again. That's were the real pulp is!


Enjoy and let me know if you tried it and how it came out!

Valentina
Real Italian Kitchen

Video Tutorial right here: Tomato Sauce
















How to sterilize jars