It's the time of year when tomatoes are plentiful and cheap - the ideal time for putting up jars of soup, sauce, diced tomatoes and relishes to enjoy throughout the year. Last week I had a bowl of tomatoes from my greenhouse and a couple of boxes of slightly damaged tomatoes I purchased at a good price locally in need of processing - close to 35 kg in total. I was short on time that week, as I had a lot of other commitments, so decided to turn this batch into our favourite tomato soup. I first learned this recipe last year - the kids complained I didn't make enough of it to last longer than a couple of months.
Each batch of soup takes 6kg of tomatoes. I got the first batch cooking away on the stove, and then since my time was so limited, I washed and chopped up another 12 kg of tomatoes, filling ziplock bags with 2kg each, and then laying the bags on trays of 6kg each before popping them in the freezer. 12 kg frozen - ready to make up more soup another day. There was no more space available in my freezer, so I had to get on with processing the rest.
This is a simple and delicious recipe; I particularly like it because it uses lots of fresh herbs from the garden. This recipe comes from Lynda Hallinan's lovely book Back to the Land.
Ingredients:
6kg tomatoes, roughly chopped
6-8 onions, roughly chopped
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP non-iodised salt
2 TBSP celery salt
14 sprigs parsely, chopped
7 sprigs thyme, chopped
7 sprigs mint, chopped
7 whole cloves
3-4 sage leaves, chopped (don't use more as its flavour is strong)
6kg tomatoes, roughly chopped
6-8 onions, roughly chopped
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP non-iodised salt
2 TBSP celery salt
14 sprigs parsely, chopped
7 sprigs thyme, chopped
7 sprigs mint, chopped
7 whole cloves
3-4 sage leaves, chopped (don't use more as its flavour is strong)
Method:
1) Place all ingredients in a large stock pot. Yes, even the cloves - they don't need to be in a muslin bag. Bring to the boil, stirring from time to time. Simmer with the lid off for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
1) Place all ingredients in a large stock pot. Yes, even the cloves - they don't need to be in a muslin bag. Bring to the boil, stirring from time to time. Simmer with the lid off for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2) Process soup through a food mill, or blend in batches then force through a sieve, to remove most of skins and seeds.
3) Return soup to pot, bring back to the boil, and then bottle in prepared hot, sterilized jars and seal. Exact details for how to prepare jars and lids or seals, and how to bottle effectively can be found HERE. Note, I leave about a 1/2 inch of head space.
That's all there is to it!
In this particular case, again due to time constraints, on day one I cooked and bottled one batch of soup, cut up and froze enough tomatoes for two more batches, and cut up and put another 2 batches worth in the fridge overnight. On day two, I cooked up those two batches of soup, and put it through the food mill, but didn't have time for bottling. So I put it back in the fridge for another night. Day three, I returned the soup to the boil, simmered it for a few minutes, and then bottled it. Three batches produced 15 quart jars of soup. To use the soup, simply open a jar, reheat in a pot, and serve. Delicious with home made bread!
That's all there is to it!
In this particular case, again due to time constraints, on day one I cooked and bottled one batch of soup, cut up and froze enough tomatoes for two more batches, and cut up and put another 2 batches worth in the fridge overnight. On day two, I cooked up those two batches of soup, and put it through the food mill, but didn't have time for bottling. So I put it back in the fridge for another night. Day three, I returned the soup to the boil, simmered it for a few minutes, and then bottled it. Three batches produced 15 quart jars of soup. To use the soup, simply open a jar, reheat in a pot, and serve. Delicious with home made bread!
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