Get saucy with the seasons plump red fruit

Tag : mustard leaf
Get saucy with the season’s plump red fruit

Clare Latimer spices up oven-dried tomatoes and gets a taste forhome-made ketchup

MY neighbours in Cornwall, Julian and Joy, have grown so manytomatoes this year, (along with an array of vegetables that makeCovent Garden Market look small!) they asked me what they could dowith them so that they could eat them through the autumn.
This made me realise there will be plenty of you out there withtomato plants all producing these plump red delights, so here are afew ideas to help you make the most of your crop.

Oven dried tomatoes
I suggested to Julian that he asks a friend who has an Aga if hecould use their slow oven over night as it is on anyway and saveshis electricity – so ask around the neighbourhood!

Ingredients
12 to 16 ripe tomatoes
Crunchy sea salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Few twigs oregano, leaves only, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil.

Method
Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and scoop out most of theseeds.
Dry the insides with kitchen paper and place on a roasting tin, cutsides up. Sprinkle over the salt, garlic, oregano and freshlyground black pepper.
Splash over a little olive oil and cook in a low oven at 100C /200F / gas 1 for at least 12 hours.
Put the tomatoes in a sterilised kilner-type jar and cover withextra virgin oil.
Use in any recipe that requires sun-dried tomatoes.

Tomato ketchup
This is much tastier than bought ketchup and so much more fun totell your friends that it is home-made.
If you put it into pretty sterilised glass containers and makeattractive labels it makes a great present and it is always wellreceived.
It can be served the usual ketchup way for burgers, sausages and,of course, chips!

Ingredients
1 kg ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and chopped
25g soft brown sugar
1 desp cider vinegar
¼ tsp mustard
1 small piece of cinnamon stick
1 small teasp whole allspice
5 whole cloves
1 small teasp ground mace
1 teasp celery seeds, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Sea salt
1 teasp smoked paprika.

Method
Put the tomatoes, onion and peppers in a large heavy pan over amedium heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutesor until very soft.
Leave to cool for a few minutes, then blend and return to the panwith the sugar, vinegar and mustard.
Add the cinnamon, allspice, cloves, mace, celery seeds, blackpeppercorns, bay leaves and garlic and bring the mixture to theboil.
Reduce to a slow simmer, continue to cook, allowing it to bubblegently, stirring often, for 20 minutes, until thoroughly cooked andquite thick.
Leave to cool and pour the mixture into suitable bottles.
Store in the fridge for up to a month. I often freeze it inice-cube trays and take out a cube when needed.

Saucy tomatoes
This is a perfect tomato sauce and especially good stirred intofresh pasta and topped with fresh grated parmesan.

Ingredients
1 kg ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
10 fresh basil leaves
2 bay leaves
1 desp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Method
To skin the tomatoes, prick the skin with a sharp knife and thenpour boiling water over them in a bowl and leave them for 1 minute.
Drain, rinse under cold water then peel and discard the skins. Chopup the tomatoes.
Heat the oil in a medium-size saucepan with the onion and garlicand fry gently for five minutes or until they are soft and palegold in colour.
Now add the chopped tomatoes and the basil leaves.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then simmer on avery low heat, without a lid, for one hour or until almost all theliquid has evaporated and the tomatoes are reduced to a thick,jam-like consistency.
Stir occasionally to check the sauce is not sticking.
At this point either use straight away, chill and store in thefridge for up to a week or freeze in portions for later use.