Friday, September 23, 2022

Preserve that Produce

My garden was super prolific this summer. I credit T with hooking up irrigation. It's smart irrigation too: on a timer, so the garden gets just a few minutes each morning, and with a rain sensor, so it skips days that it rains. (The sensor is basically a $20 add-on to the system, and saves both wasted water and water costs.)

So I ended up with multiple pints of the best cherry tomatoes, and at the end of the summer several baseball-sized tomatoes. And after some slices on burgers, they just kept coming.

With more than we could eat before they would spoil, it was time to start roasting. I used this recipe for inspiration with a couple changes.

First slice your tomatoes into large pieces. I didn't bother removing skins or seeds, just the very top pith. Spread them across some baking sheets. Lining them with a reusable silicone liner will make for easy cleanup.

Next, drizzle some olive oil and season the tomatoes with salt, pepper, and herbs, and add a few whole garlic cloves.

Roast at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. The recipe said 60-90 minutes, but gut was telling me this was way too long at this temperature. So check after 20-30 and give it more time as needed. You will notice the juices starting to release, the skins wilting, and possibly a couple charred edges when they're done. 

Once they're out of the oven and fully cooled, store for later use. I loved this collapsible silicone bowl that I received in my MightyFix subscription. 

This particular batch didn't even make it into the freezer. It smelled so good after roasting that I gave it a few pulses in the mini food processor and had instant pasta sauce. That's it - nothing but roasted herbed tomatoes, pureed to a silky smooth sauce.

After this round, I still have several pounds of tomatoes still ripening, so the subsequent batches will get this same roasting treatment, then portioned and frozen for sauce throughout the winter.

This preparation is mostly "passive" cooking time, and will preserve many pounds of produce that would otherwise be excess. 

So simple, and so delicious!


No comments:

Post a Comment