Tomato Sauce, Farmer-Style

From Sarah Voiland, 2011

Here’s a quick description of how we make our sauce here, the short-cut way. We like to do just tomatoes, and then add our other sauce ingredients like onions, carrots, frozen peppers, garlic etc. in the winter when we go to use the sauce. Then you can make anything you want with it, from spaghetti sauce to tomato soup.

1. We get lots of tomatoes and wash them and cut out the stem parts and bad spots.
2. Then chop them in large chunks and puree them, skins, seeds and all in the blender or food processor.
3. Then put the puree in a big pot, and bring to a boil then simmer on low, stirring, until you get the thickness you want. The real key is having a good pot with a thick bottom that will keep stuff from sticking and burning on the bottom, and keeping an eye on it. A stirrer with a flat bottom edge that you can swipe across the bottom of the pan is great.
4. Once you have your thickness, you can it, using the boiling water method, 30 to 45 minutes or whatever your how-to-boiling-water-bath info source says. We’re a big fan of the wide mouth quart jars -easier to clean later on.
5. Instead of canning, you can also freeze the sauce instead! Jars make great presents. Freezing is easier if you have room in your freezer.

Here’s a great resource for canning recipes and methods: The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Varieties of Tomatoes for Sauce 
You can make really flavorful sauces from mixed heirloom varieties. Heirlooms may take a little bit longer to cook down, but the flavor is great. Paste or Saucing Tomatoes have less juice and cook down faster, and also taste really good. I make big batches with the paste tomatoes, and then I like to make some batches with certain varieties of tomatoes, like an all Brandywine Sauce, and a sauce with only white, yellow and orange tomato varieties. Red Slicing types are great for salsa, and can also make good sauce with a little longer cooking time than with paste varieties.

Fresh Tomato-Corn Salsa

From the contributor, CSA member Anna: “Thanks for the wonderful veggies that are coming in so far. I’m enjoying them very much. I wanted to share two recipes that I recently tried and love. I hope others will try and enjoy eating them as well.”

3 tomatoes, chopped 
3 ears corn
1 onion, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 hot pepper, minced, or 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1⁄4 cup lemon juice or vinegar
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt to taste
3 Tbs. cilantro

Chop tomatoes, salt and let sit in a colander for 30 min. to drain off extra juice. In the meantime, cut kernels from corn (yep, it’s delicious raw) and mix in the rest of the ingredients, adding the drained tomatoes last and salting to taste.

Roasted Corn and Peach Salsa

4 ears corn 
6 peaches
1 onion
1 pepper
5 tomatillos or 2 tomatoes (optional)
4 cloves garlic
¼ cup vinegar
1 hot pepper
salt to taste

Roast the corn under the broil in the oven or on a grill. Cut from cobs. Dice or food process peaches, mix with corn, minced onion, tomatillos or tomatoes if you’re using them, pepper, minced garlic and hot pepper. Add vinegar and salt to taste.

Let it sit for an hour to let the flavors blend.

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

6 medium tomatoes, sliced crosswise 1/2 – to 3/4 inch thick 
Olive oil
Salt, pepper and sugar

Heat oven to 300º F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil; generously rub with oil. Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar (optional). Roast until the tomatoes shrivel, the edges start to turn brown and most of the liquid around the tomatoes has caramelized, about 1 hour. Roasted tomatoes will keep 4 or 5 days in the refrigerator.

You can also pack oven roasted tomatoes into containers to freeze. They make an awesome addition to anything in the winter.

Green Beans Braised with Tomatoes and Basil

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
1 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
1-2 tomatoes , finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup water

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and half the garlic and sauté until onion softens slightly, about 5 minutes. Add green beans, tomatoes, basil leaves, and 1/2 cup water.

Cook until beans are crisp-tender, stirring and tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Garlic and Herb Rataouille

2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 onion (opt.), chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 small eggplant, cubed
2-3 large tomatoes
3 to 4 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 Tbs. fresh, chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

In a 4-quart Dutch oven or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add eggplant and half the garlic; stir until coated with oil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep vegetables from sticking.

Add tomatoes, zucchini, and herbs; mix well. Cover and cook over low heat about 15 minutes, or until eggplant is tender but not too soft. Add rest of garlic and cook one more minute.

Ratatouille Outside the Box

From Red Fire Farm Chef Kristen Schafenacker, 2007 

Yes! A recipe from your share that is so good it fools the most finicky kid into eating vegetables.

1 large eggplant, or 3 Asian eggplant, cut into 1 inch x ¼ in pieces (if using Italian eggplant, peel first)
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 bell peppers, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
1 summer squash, diced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup chopped cilantro
1 t. cumin
½ t. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
avocado and lime slices

Saute eggplant in wok or skillet on high heat in all but 2 T vegetable oil (10 minutes). When browned, set aside on a paper towel. Add pepper and onions to wok and remaining olive oil if necessary. Cook until caramelized (10 minutes).

Add vinegar, summer squash, tomatoes, and spices and cook until a thick sauce forms (10 minutes). Serve with avocado and lime wedges.

Tomato Basil Salad

3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 small bunch fresh basil, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh mozzarella
2 Tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and marinate.  Pour off extra liquid as desired.

Panzanella: Tomato and Bread Salad

1/2 small baguette (about 12 inches long)
1 large garlic clove, mashed
Olive oil for brushing
6 medium to large Red Fire Farm tomatoes, cut into large chunks
1/2 medium onion chopped
3 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh basil
4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 300ºF.
Split the baguette lengthwise. Rub the cut side of one-half of the bread very well with the mashed garlic. Brush liberally with olive oil. Cut the baguette half in half again lengthwise, and then cut these strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Place the croutons on a baking sheet, crust side down. Bake 30 minutes, until dark golden.

If croutons are made in advance, put the Red Fire Farm tomatoes in a large mixing bowl a bit before you intend to mix the salad, then drain off and discard any juice that may accumulate. To serve, add the croutons, onion, and basil to the tomatoes. Whisk the vinegar and oil for the vinaigrette. Pour over all and toss.

Makes 6 servings.