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120 pounds of heirloom tomatoes! Having good friends who are farmers is certainly very inspiring when you spend most of your time behind a stove! But it was never as inspiring as a couple of weeks ago when my dear friend Nevia called out of the blue and asked if I could take some heirloom tomatoes that were simply too ripe to sell. She and her partner Kwang have a farm in Bordentown, New Jersey and they specialize in growing heirloom vegetables, especially tomatoes. My answer was: Yes, I'll take them!
I had bought a small canning pressure cooker last summer. Although I had very good intentions, with my usual busy schedule I never even took it out of its box. Now I had no choice… Only one problem: I had never canned anything in my life and had to figure out how to do it properly. It took a little investigating, but I ended up finding all the information I needed on the USDA website. Now I just had to roll up my sleeves and get to work. It took me two 16-hour days to prep, cook and can my tomatoes and I ended up with only with about 40 pints worth of the precious sauce — most of which I ended up giving away! However exhausting the experience was, I found it profoundly satisfying and humbling. I felt connected to my ancestors in a way I never had before… My great-grandmother must have been doing this her whole life! Although I made several different
kinds of sauces that weekend, the classic tomato sauce with basil
remains my favorite, so this is the one I would like to share with
you here. You can make it either with red or yellow heirloom tomatoes.
It is perfect with pasta and some parmesan shavings. It also makes
the most delicious topping for a pizza margherita; I even like to
poach eggs in it, which I serve with a slice of crusty sourdough.
And if you are courageous enough to tackle canning, have a look
at Step 3… Buon Appetito! |
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Classic Heirloom Tomato
Sauce with Fresh Basil
makes approximately 2 cups |
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Step 1: Place the tomatoes in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Step 2: Heat a large heavy-bottomed soup pot at medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and garlic and sauté for 1 minute only. Add the tomatoes and reserved tomato juice and bring to a boil. As soon as the sauce reaches boiling point, reduce heat to medium to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes until the sauce has thickened, stirring from time to time. Add the basil, salt, pepper and balsamic. Continue to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until basil has wilted. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool, or proceed with your recipe of choice. Cook's note: Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Step 3:
To can the sauce:
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What
I didn't expect, though, was that 120 lbs of tomatoes would soon
show up at my door! My initial excitement began to turn to apprehension.
Even if I managed to cook all of them before they rotted in their
boxes, how was I going to preserve so much sauce?
