3rd National Tomato Sauce Making Day

Ok, perhaps not a national day, but it is the third year I have invited my friends around to transform 10kgs of tomatoes into delicious tomato sauce. Like you use on pies. Or homemade sausage rolls. Or with zucchini slice. Or anything. Nothing like store bought tomato sauce and I think so, so much better.

The big day was on Saturday 27 March, but I was too excited about organising the Permaculture Inner North meeting, so I didn't mention it to you.

The day started at 10am and went until around 7pm, I think. Longer than I expected but we were committed to having a great, thick sauce so it cooked for longer than the recipe asked for. There was too much laughter in the kitchen for people to want to go home, anyway. Plus a surprise late arrival of apple pie to spur people on.

It is quite an event as not only do we make the tomato sauce, I set others the task of making pasta (from scratch, using a pasta maker to roll and cut it) and a roasted tomato sauce for lunch. All this is accompanied by a crusty loaf of bread, a simple garden salad, red wine and lovely friends sitting outside on one long table made by my dad years ago. Probably twenty years ago. This is what life is for.

Everyone gets to go home with a bottle of tomato sauce for their efforts.

Here is the recipe for a smaller quantity

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1. 2.5kg tomatoes
2. 350g apples (about 3 apples)
3. 1 3/4 cups white vinegar
4. 250g onions
5. 1 teaspoon white pepper
6. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
7. 1 teaspoon ground cloves
8. ginger, size of the end of your thumb
9. 1 teaspoon allspice or mixed spice
10. 4 cloves garlic, chopped
11. 3 teaspoons salt
12. 2 cups sugar

Method

1. Core the apples but don't peel them Roughly cut up apples, tomatoes and onions and place in a large pot with remaining ingredients
2. Bring to the boil. Remove the lid from the pan. Boil for an hour ensuring that you stir more frequently as the sauce thickens
3. Blend till smooth with a Bamix, blender or run through a moule
4. Carefully pour into hot, sterilised bottles. Seal whilst hot