Frozen Garden Tomatoes For Winter Soups And Sauces Food

FROZEN GARDEN TOMATOES FOR WINTER SOUPS AND SAUCES

Steps:

• Core tomatoes, then freeze in freezer bags (don't bother peeling them).
• To use frozen tomatoes, plunge into simmering sauces or soups; burst skins will float to the surface making them easy to remove.

PEELED TOMATOES FOR SOUPS AND SAUCES ( A "HOW TO")

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt if using. The size of pot depends on how many tomatoes you put in at a time. I only put in five at a time.
• At boil, submerge tomatoes (they will float but that's okay), bring water back to a boil. Boil for three to seven minutes depending on the size of tomato.
• Remove tomatoes but keep the water simmering for next batch.
• Cool enough to handle. The skin should be split on each tomato now, so just peel from that starting point.
• Cut in half and remove seeds.
• NOW, you have tomatoes ready for whatever is your next step. Easy, right?

HEARTY GARDEN FRESH HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP OR SAUCE

Steps:

• Sauté first 5 ingredients in olive oil until soft in an 8-10 quart pot.
• Make a bundle of the sage, thyme and bay leaves by wrapping them with string in cheesecloth (you can tie the string to a pot handle to make it easier to remove later).
• Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Let cool.
• Puree through a food mill fitted with a medium blade. The use of a medium blade gives you a soup with plenty of pulp (you can adjust blade size if you like). Reheat and adjust seasonings as needed. Add a splash of heavy cream before serving if you want cream of tomato soup.
• If you don't have a food mill you can also make this a semi-chunky soup, but I'd recommend a smaller dice for onions, carrots, celery and red peppers.
• To make a sauce, return to pot after pureeing and let it continue to simmer over low heat until it reaches the desired consistency.