Self-Sufficient.co.uk
Find out more about Self Sufficiency
Site Search
Main Menu
Top Products
Fruit TreesPolytunnel
Water Butts
Strimmer
Shed
Greenhouse
Porous Pipe
Latest Articles
Allotment Gardening
Grow all you can eat on your own allotment.
grow your own
20:32, 10th May 2014
Smallholding for Sale in North Devon
Three bedroom detached house in 18 acres for sale - North Devon, UK
smallholding
20:48, 17th Mar 2013
Nettles
Find out more about nettles - how to benefit from them and how to get rid of them
foraging
16:12, 13th Apr 2012
Making Nettle Beer
Find out how to make your nettle beer
recipes
16:10, 13th Apr 2012
How to Make Sloe Gin
Find out how to make your own sloe gin
recipes
14:40, 13th Apr 2012
Grow Your Own Chilli Peppers
Find out how to grow your own chilli peppers
grow your own
13:33, 16th Mar 2012
Home Beekeeping
Find out more about keeping bees in your garden for honey
grow your own
15:40, 4th Jan 2012
Storing Apples
Find out how to store apples
fruits
13:23, 28th Jul 2011
Make Tomato Passata
Preserve tomatoes by making delicious tomato passata
Make Tomato Passata
preserving | fruits | grow your own | recipesTomato passata is a traditional Italian tomato sauce made in the late summer when there is a glut of ripe tomatoes, and which is typically bottled, stored, and used throughout the rest of the year in recipes. It is very quick and easy to make - in Italy, families often make hundreds of litres every year. If you don't grow your own tomatoes, then during the summer months you will often find large boxes of 5-10 kg of tomatoes at the market very cheaply.
As the jars above show, store bought tomato passata is expensive (and not as tasty as passata you make for yourself), so it is well worth making your own this summer.
How to Make Tomato Passata
To make tomato passata you need a large pan (the bigger the better) with a heavy base (the heavier the better), and as many tomatoes as you can get your hands on. Wash the tomatoes well and remove any bad bits. Add a sprig of fresh basil, a whole onion with its skin removed, and your tomatoes to the pan and bring it to the boil. By squeezing a few of the tomatoes using the back of a spoon or potato masher at the start, the juice released will help prevent the tomatoes at the base of the pan from sticking and burning.
Leave the tomatoes simmering away and reducing for at least one hour, and then pass the resulting tomato pulp through a mouli (aka food mill such as that pictured above: click here to buy a mouli) to remove the tomato seeds and skins. If you do not have a mouli then a sieve and the back of a spoon will also do the job, if considerably slower and with more elbow grease.
Finally heat up some olive oil in a large pan and add some very finely chopped onions and garlic (and roasted peppers if you like). When the onions have gone translucent pour in the tomato sauce you have made, add salt and fresh basil to taste, bring up to the boil, and then leave to simmer and reduce until your tomato passata reaches a consistency that you like.
For a thicker and richer tasting sauce, roast the tomatoes for an hour first.
Preserving Tomato Passata
Tomato passata can be eaten immediately, but it is typically preserved so that it can be eaten later in the year when fresh tomatoes are not available. Simply spoon the tomato passata into jars to within 1cm of the top and then screw on the lids. If you can get jars with vacuum seal lids, then this is best since the 'pop' when the jar is opened confirms that the contents have been kept air tight.
Put the filled sealed jars into a bain marie - e.g. a small pan within a large pan, both containing water so that the bottom of the jars is not in contact with the very hot base of the pan which is being directly heated. Fill the pan containing the jars with water until just a couple of inches below the tops of the jars, and bring to the boil. Then cover and leave for twenty minutes. Finally, remove the jars and leave to cool slowly before labelling and storing in a cool dark location.
Shopping List
Here are some useful links to relevant products:
Article Published: 12:00, 25th May 2010
Related Articles
Pear and Lemon Jam
Instructions for making pear and lemon jam
Article Published: 15:59, 27th Jul 2011
preserving | fruits | grow your own | recipes
Making Apricot Jam
Instructions for making your own apricot jam
Article Published: 16:44, 26th Jul 2011
preserving | fruits | grow your own | recipes
Making Jam
An introduction to making your own jam
Article Published: 08:33, 22nd May 2010
preserving | fruits | grow your own | recipes
Making Marmalade
An introduction to making your own marmalade
Article Published: 21:08, 9th Jan 2011
preserving | fruits | grow your own | recipes
Make Caramelised Onion Chutney
Make a delicious caramelised onion chutney
Article Published: 08:33, 22nd May 2010
preserving | vegetables | grow your own | recipes
Tomato Ketchup Recipe with Fresh Tomatoes
Make your own delicious tomato ketchup with fresh tomatoes
Article Published: 11:02, 22nd Nov 2010
preserving | recipes | grow your own
Making Garlic Oil
Make your own garlic oil
Article Published: 14:49, 25th Nov 2010
preserving | grow your own | recipes
Storing Apples
Find out how to store apples
Article Published: 13:23, 28th Jul 2011
fruits | preserving | grow your own
Make Fruit Leather
Find out how to preserve fruits as fruit leather
Article Published: 19:38, 25th Nov 2010
fruits | preserving | recipes
Potato Clamp Storing Potatoes
Store potatoes (and other vegetables) over winter with a potato clamp
Article Published: 15:05, 7th Jul 2008
preserving | vegetables | grow your own