I want to be a tomato!......'Cheats Tomato Sauce'

Fruit or Vegetable?

The debate on whether the humble yet versatile tomato is a fruit or a vegetable has drawn battle lines across many a dinner table and even professional kitchens........so let me tell you how it is!

THE TOMATO IS A FRUIT!...... but alas, it is also classed as a vegetable, well according to US customs regulations, but we'll not worry about that right here!

The tomato is botanically a berry fruit as it has soft flesh, but when it comes to cooking with it everyone treats it in a savoury manner, you will never see tomato crumble with whipped cream on the menu! and frankly I wouldn't care to taste that....would you?

Because of our 'wonderful' north European climate, and I use the word 'wonderful' with a large dollop of sarcasm, tomatoes tend to not grow to their best unless you are the privileged owner of a poly tunnel or have a nicely glazed porch, conservatory or a good sized glass house, basically you need somewhere with a good heat supply that will get the best of what sun is on offer and plenty of space as little tomato plants have a nasty habit of growing up to be giants, even ones purported to be dwarves!
The average tomato plant can grown between 3-10 feet in height and require copious amounts of tomato feed or they just don't do well.

If you are adventurous enough to have a jungle of tomato plants in your conservatory or greenhouse then be prepared to have a few kilos of them all ripening at once.....heed my warning!

Tomatoes seem to be available all year round now in our supermarkets but you certainly don't get the numerous varieties like there are on display in France where I counted 15 different varieties in a small town supermarket, all of them locally grown I might add!

I found the differences in shape, colour and textures of the tomatoes fascinating.
From the deep purple that looked more like a knobbly potato to a smooth orangey yellow resembling a miniature pumpkin, to a brilliant red that you just know is loaded with juicy sunshine goodness.
It would have been an exciting exercise to be able to buys lots of each variety and do some experimenting to find which ones would make the best soup, a tomato sauce or to just eat in a salad....but I am on holiday after all!

In Ireland we seem to be restricted to only being able to buy the basic round tomato, the cherry tomato, or sometimes the beefsteak tomato, occasionally you will come across plum tomatoes.

We only ever get red tomatoes, or greenish ones if they are under ripe, but now and then you do see the little yellow cherry tomatoes. You'd certainly never see a black one!

So if you feel brave enough and have the space, then do have a go at growing your own and if mother nature sends you bushels of ripe tomatoes? then make sauce! 

If you are unable to grow your own then keep your eyes open in the supermarket for when tomatoes are at their best, which is in the summer, you will probably see lots of cut price offers as tomatoes can go over ripe very quickly. Or you can just even buy a load of tomatoes if they look and taste good, failing that and you still want to make home made tomato sauce then you cheat! using pre sieved tomatoes or passata as your base.

Passata or sieved tomatoes usually come pasteurised in a tetrapak carton or in a glass bottle. This is very convenient as they have taken all the hard slog out of preparing your tomatoes....and it's lovely and smooth too, no bits!

A good basic tomato sauce is simple to make and has a multitude of uses and is a handy store cupboard emergency fall back.

You can use it as a pizza topping, add straight to cooked pasta, use as a base for a bolognese or chilli sauce, heat it up then add white wine and cream or even crème fraiche or soured cream for a marvellous sauce for a steak, chicken fillet or pork, you can use it in winter as a base for a minestrone soup or any other soup combinations such as celery, apple and tomato, add it to zing up a basic meat stew or casserole or really anything you can think of that you would normally use a 'bought' jar of tomato sauce.

So in keeping with keeping things simple......

Cheats Tomato Sauce!

I like to make it worth my while when making this sauce! so I make big batches.
I advise you to invest in a 4-5 litre stainless steel saucepan with a lid, it may be an expensive outlay but you will never be sorry! a big pot like this can be used to make batches of home made soups, sauces, ratatouille, jams and to cook your Christmas or thanksgiving ham in!

With a pot this size you can make a good 3-4 litres of sauce in one go which should give you about 8 or 9, 500ml jars of sauce for a fraction of the price of a jar you would buy in the supermarket! and lets face it, anything you make yourself always tastes way better than shop bought!
I have found 500ml cartons of passata on sale for as little as 19c!! as they are pasteurised they have long dates....buy cheap and store for later.

you will need:

per 1 litre of sieved tomatoes

2 medium mild onions (white)

4 large cloves of garlic or 2 tablespoons crushed garlic (use less or more to suit your own taste)

2 tablespoons each of dried basil, marjoram, oregano

or 1 tablespoon of each if able to use chopped fresh herbs

4 tablespoons of good quality olive oil but not extra virgin

juice 1/2 lemon or red wine vinegar (optional)

1 glass of dry white wine or 1 glass of red...chianti works well or use any leftover wine you have

some sugar if you like a sweeter sauce!

jars with tightly fitting lids.....kilner jars with screw on  or clip lids are good but if you're into saving money like I am then recycle! recycle! just make sure you scrub and sterilise any pre-used jars

what to do:

• wash the jars well with soapy water, rinse well then warm your jars in the oven at 120 degrees centigrade.....you can do this while cooking the sauce
• finely chop the onion, crush or chop the garlic and set both aside
• in your big pot, heat the olive oil gently and add the onions, fry without colour for a few moments then put the lid on. Cook over a gentle heat until the onions have become quite soft but not browned!.
• add the wine and bring to the boil for about a minute, turn heat down to medium again and add the sieved tomatoes, if you are using dried herbs add them now. Mix everything together well, cover once more and leave to cook for about 8-10 mins on a gentle heat
• taste your sauce...is it sweet enough for you? if not add some of the sugar, stir to dissolve well. Is it too sweet? then add some lemon juice or red wine vinegar
• now that your sauce is cooked you can add the garlic, adding it at the last moment helps your sauce have a really fresh flavour. If you are using fresh herbs then add them now too,
• decant your sauce into the jars which you should take warm from the oven
• fill each jar to the neck and put the lid on immediately....as each jar cools a vacuum will be formed between sauce and lid.....just like in a jar you would buy from the supermarket!
• this tomato sauce will keep for many months if you store the jars in a cool larder or other suitable dark, cool place....a creepy cellar would be good if you have one!
• it is a good idea to label and date your jars when cool

Chefs Notes:

• If you would rather not add the wine you can leave it out but you may need to add a little water if the sauce is too thick.
• If you don't like any of the herbs listed feel free to leave one or two of them out but the sauce really does need herbs of some sort. It is equally delicious if you use nothing but lots of freshly chopped basil added at the last minute before bottling.
• You could even do separate sauces.... a basil sauce or an oregano sauce...a fresh basil sauce works well with just cooked pasta...an oregano sauce works well as a pizza topping or in a lasagne.
• Feel free to add spice with maybe some fresh chopped chillies, some chilli powder, chilli flakes, sweet chilli sauce, tabasco sauce or even some paprika....variety is the spice of life after all!
• Remember once opened it must be stored in the refrigerator where it will keep quite happily for 4-5 days after that if you haven't finished the bottle probably best to get rid of it!