Here's the thing, it has been no secret in this blog that I really enjoy all fruit and veg. Yet, this weeks take home from our local CSA questioned my inner cook. As the summer draws to a close, the farmers market and CSA have been offering the most diverse and colorful produce to date. Simply beautiful. Simply delicious.
This weeks shopping list for week 12:
Cantaloupe
Peaches
Grape Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Beefsteak tomatoes
Pink heirloom tomatoes
Radishes
Cauliflower
Peppers
Carrots
This week marked the third distribution of our canning share. We opted to split an add on to our fruit and veggies with our friends for the season. The canning offers ALOT of veg in 5 installments. In July we received a crate of basil and at the beginning of August, we received a crate of Kirby cucumbers. It appears that the purpose of this share is to preserve food for the winter months. We had given our basil to a friend to enjoy when we were in the Cape and the cucumbers got pickled by another friend who created delish pickles that currently line my shelves. This food sharing is part of why I love cooking in our community so much. Fun times.
This week as you can tell by the list above, tomatoes were king. They were everywhere at the farmers market and the CSA. As an added bonus, our third distribution of the canning share awaited us. Saturday morning, amidst a steady summer morning rain, a massive crate filled with "paste tomatoes" was split between our 2 households. I got them home, laid them out on the counter and the journey of creating our first fresh tomato basil sauce began.
Please note, this is very similar to the sauce I shared a few months ago. However, that recipe was a quicker sauce that utilized canned tomatoes. The difference, these tomatoes are fresh from the vine. Mmm...Enjoy!
Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce
40 tomatoes, (beefsteak and plum)
3 small onions, diced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of super fine sugar
1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2) While bringing water to a boil, fill your kitchen sink (after scrubbing it clean) with cold tap water.
3) Working in batches, place 4-6 tomatoes into the boiling water (do not crowd) at a time and let float for about 1 minute.
4) As you pull out your tomatoes, place them into your water bath. Repeat and continue until all tomatoes are cooling in your water bath.
5) Pull the skins away from the flesh of the fruit and place in a bowl. Discard all skins.
6) Cut each tomato in half and cut out the seeds and stems. Place into a bowl. Continue this step until you have cut up and seeded all of your tomatoes.
7) Heat oil in the bottom of your pot and sauté garlic, onions and tomato paste together for about 4-6 minutes until onions are sweated and tomato paste is absorbed.
8) Add tomatoes to the onion/garlic mixture, add salt and pepper, basil, oregano, sugar. Cover and walk away.
9) Stir every 30 minutes for about 2 hours.
10) After 2 hours, uncover and let the tomatoes reduce and break down to about half.
Tips:
* If some of the tomatoes aren't breaking down as much as you may like after the first 2 hours, use your immersion hand blender to bring your sauce together.
* Be careful to not over salt during the first hour or two. I promise that the flavors will concentrate and build.
4 hours after our sauce journey began, I was left with 3 beautiful quarts of what I felt was red gold. This tomato basil sauce had the freshest and most vibrant flavored throughout. Another silly experiment ended with a feeling of pride and joy. I loved every moment of this process. Every week that CSA continues, it solidifies the fact that we will rejoin next year. Loving so much of what the season, the soil and my kitchen have to offer.
Please, love one another and happy eating!!!
Location:Brooklyn, New York
No comments:
Post a Comment