It’s tomato season ! It’s August and the tomatoes are ripe all at once!! I need to make some sauce with all these tomatoes! I have so many fond memories of the tomato season growing up in my big Italian family. Every summer Nonna, my grandmother, would notify her six daughters and all the grandchildren that it was time to jar the tomatoes. Nonna was in charge and would oversee the production. The assembly line was set up outside on the patio with all the girls lined up. Nonno, my grandfather, started the process with the firepit and boiled all the jars. In the meantime, the girls each had their station of dipping the tomatoes in hot water to peel them and core them and placing them in pots. The next station was the girls with the food mills. They grind and puree the tomatoes removing all the seeds. My grandfather put the pots on the firepit to boil the tomato sauce. The next station was the table with all the clean jars with basil leaves. Once the tomatoes were simmered until it was thick sauce, then a group of sisters started ladling the cooked sauce into the jars while the next group put the tops on. Nonno then placed the jars in a pot of water to boil and seal the lids on the jars. Once boiled and rested in the water, the jars were cooled off and the next day all the seals were checked. I don’t remember exactly how many jars they made. The only thing I can tell you is that they made enough for the whole year for all of the families.
Let me just say, I don’t have a garden as big as my Nonno once had. This year I planted 4 tomato plants and it’s more than enough for us. Even though I am in the tomato sauce business, I don’t jar my own tomatoes. But I love making a fresh tomato sauce in the summer. My family looks forward to the end of the summer when we make the fresh tomato sauce. I thought I would share the recipe. It’s a simple recipe that I’m sure your family would love too! I used what I grew in my garden, Plum tomatoes and Roma tomatoes. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you who helped pick the tomatoes and green beans too!
Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
~15 peeled fresh plum tomatoes
~4 peeled Roma tomatoes
~ 1/4 cup EVOO
~ 1 large Vidalia onion (cut into cubes)
~2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
~1 TBS chopped parsley
~ small bunch of torn basil
~1 tsp salt
~1 tsp sugar
~ pinch of oregano
Procedure:
1. Boil water in a pot. Dip each tomato in boiling water for 5 seconds. Remove from water.
2. The tomatoes will have skin that starts to peel. Just remove the peel and cut out the core.
3. Cut the peeled tomatoes in quarters.
4. In a pot combine EVOO, chopped onion and garlic and saut?. until soft.
5. Once onion are soft add oregano, chopped parsley, mix and then add the chopped tomatoes.
6. Cook on med low heat for 15 minutes stirring often.
7. Use a hand blender to puree the cooked tomato sauce.Add salt and sugar.
8. Add torn basil. Cook 15 to 25 minutes stirring intermittently until sauce is right consistency.
9. It depends on how watery the tomatoes. Cooking allows juice to evaporate. Eccolo qua! Una salsa speciale!
Teresa Morgan