Waste Not Want Not

It's peak harvesting time and I have been thinking about ways to save all those summer goodies to enjoy through to next years summer. I purposefully grew a lot of chilies this year. I love chilies in my stews in winter, in anything for that matter. My mum who is an expert in what veges keep in the freezer highly recommends chopping up fresh chilies and freezing them. Simply add to your dish, no need to defrost and voila you have "fresh" chili in your chicken tomato (let me get to tomatoes next) stew. I absolutely love a chili sauce, nice and hot just like you get in a good Chinese restaurant. I have yet to make my own so if you have a good recipe please throw it my way. 

Tomatoes are the cliché summer vege, well fruit if you are being technical. Last year I gathered as many tomatoes as I could and froze them in 400g lots. If a recipe called for a tin of tomatoes I would go to my freezer. Problem is they were gone in a flash. What I thought would last me well into winter was gone in a month. If I start now I might just save enough to while away the cold months. The last thing I want to do is buy tinned tomatoes, having read some seriously scary articles on BPA in tinned food I am stearing clear. You can also sun dry your tomatoes, let the uv rays do all the work, make chutneys, sauces, paste, passata and relish, oh the many uses for tomatoes. 

One more freezer tip from my Mum. She claims it is a French home cookers tip. Any discarded vegetables left over from your dinner preparations, don't throw them out, freeze them! Why you ask, as I did too. If you keep a container or freezer bag handy throw your carrot tops,  bits of onion or spring onion, celery leaves, any vegetable that would suit going into a stock, then when your container is full you have your ingredients for whatever stock you fancy. Pea pods, ends of garlic, kohl rabi skins, it's all good. Keep in mind beetroot will give you a purpley stock, as will the heirloom coloured carrots. Waste not want not!

I have been using a Stephanie Alexanders recipe for tomato sauce for years now. It is the tastiest I have ever come across. I portion it and freeze it. It is good on just about anything savoury I can think of. Perfect for a pasta sauce, great on veges, on your breakfast, as a base for other dishes, the options are endless. Here goes:

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

500g ripe tomaotes, cored, seeded and roughly  sliced

1 onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Tumble tomato, onion and garlic with oil and put them in to a saucepan (or spread in a baking dish into which mixture will fit without too much extra space). Cook over a moderate heat for about 15 minutes (or bake at 180c, tightly covered with foil, for at least one hour until tomato has collapsed, skins are wrinkled and brown and juices are flowing). When tomato and onion are soft, press everything through the coarsest disc in a food mill. Season to taste. 
For a smoother sauce, pass mixture through food mill's medium disc. For a thicker sauce, reduce sauce in a pan over a simmer mat, stirring frequently. For a thinner sauce, add 1/2 cup red wine (or sherry), water or meat stock. I don't have a food mill so I just use my food processor.

Now here is where you can experiment. Add your fav herbs and spices. Fresh basil, oregano, rosemary and bay leaves work a treat. I just use what I have on hand. Make sure you remove the bay leaf before passing through the mill. A whole red chili will make your sauce a little spicy, also remember to remove that before you mill your sauce.

I always use aromatics which make the sauce so much yummier. A small amount of bacon, a carrot, some celery and/or red or white wine from the beginning of the cooking time. The oven baked method is best if you use aromatics.

And one more tomato tip, this one is from Sue at Penninsula Fresh. If you freeze your tomatoes before making a chutney or sauce then you do not have to go through the process of skinning them. The freezing process breaks down the skin.

Have a great week,

Abbie x