Sunday in the Garden: Weekend Cooking
Buried in Tomatoes
My tomato plants enjoyed the unusually warm summer. As long as I watered them regularly they were very happy, and very productive. They are ripening earlier than usual and I have already made six quarts of puree.
My counter top is once again filled with tomatoes waiting for my attention. I choose the ripest ones to puree for later use in other recipes. Then I store them in glass jars which I freeze as I don’t trust my canning skills.
Easy Tomato Puree Recipe
- Blanch ripe tomatoes in boiling water until the skins split, about 3 or 4 minutes.
- Remove using a slotted spoon and let cool (or drop in ice water for a minute).
- Cut in half, peel off skin and remove core.
- Roughly chop and blend.
- In a large pot boil down to desired consistency.
The puree can be used immediately in sauce, canned or stored frozen.
The Macina-Legumi
To make the puree I have a very cool hand-operated food mill called the Macina-Legumi that does a wonderful job. That’s a photo of it on the left. It’s a little more work than an electric food mill or blender but I like the results much better. It has three different size strainers and is very versatile.
Unfortunately I don’t know where it was purchased because I received it as a gift a few years ago. An online buying search doesn’t bring up any results other than eBay and a few sites in Italian. If you ever come across one at a garage sale, grab it.
Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Participation is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs.
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Under My Apple Tree 
Oh man, I wish I were there to help you eat some of those tomatoes. There’s nothing better than a warm tomato plucked right from the vine.
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So worth the time and effort when you want to have a great sauce in the winter months! I have a restaurant supply store near me that is open to the public. I might check there for the mill.
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Oh yum, home-grown tomatoes made into puree & sauce! What is the difference between the consistency of hand-milled vs. electronically processed puree?
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The hand-milled produces very fine, consistent texture. It’s a little chunkier with the food processor unless I over process it. Also, with the hand mill bits skin that get stuck on the tomatoes will stay in the mill and the finest strainer will keep out the seeds. In the blender they get left in the puree. I do use the food processor if I’m in a hurry or I want it chunky.
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There’s nothing like a fresh tomato! Thanks for dropping by and visiting.
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Oh I love that tomato mill gadget. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for one at garage sales and flea markets. I too usually freeze instead of can.
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