Stewing Tomatoes for Freezing

Fresh Tomatoes in the dead of winter

Ever find yourself in need for fresh tomato sauce in the dead of winter and do not want to simply just used canned tomatoes. I have your solution.  Nearing the end of summer when tomatoes are plentiful go pick up a 20-25 lb box from your local farm or from your own garden.  I did not have enough of my own tomatoes to complete my task.  Most farms in middle to end of September are selling boxes of tomatoes for around 20-25 dollars.  I picked up 3 boxes as I have a chest freezer where I wanted to really stockpile fresh tomatoes for the winter.  I am Italian, we like to have a nice fresh sauce on Sundays and I was not about to just used canned tomatoes as that authentic flavor is just not there.  So here is how to begin:

GET THE GOOD STUFF

I got mostly celebrity tomatoes this year but in previous years I got Roma or San Marzano (my favorite).  Really any tomatoes will work, the less seeds the better.

The process is very easy the way I do it.  Any inexperienced cook can do this, you do not have to be an Emeril Lagasse.

  

TIME TO COOK

Ingredients:

3 20-25lb boxes of tomatoes

Bunch of basil

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

1 can of tomato paste per box of tomatoes

First wash all tomatoes.

Cut all tomatoes in quarters

No need to boil to get the skin off (you can if you want but that is just way to much effort)

Once the tomatoes start to boil there is a lot of water so as the tomatoes start to reduce the water releases so be aware when filling the pot to the top

Put some olive oil, salt, pepper in the pan before the tomatoes

Add the tomatoes and handful of basil and tomato paste

Let the tomatoes start to reduce down and use a masher to break down the tomatoes and stir ever now and again to prevent any burning

This process takes a few hours so don't get impatient

TIME TO LET COOL

Once the tomatoes have reduced down to 3/4 the original size turn off the heat

Now let the tomatoes cool down

I transferred into tupperware as i think that makes the cooling processes quicker although that means more dishes to do!

Once the tomatoes are cooled its time to package into ziplock bags

I used quart size bags because when making a Sunday sauce I can grab one or two quart sized bags to thaw out and make my sauce

Bada-bing you now have fresh tomatoes for the entire winter and spring!

TIME TO MAKE SAUCE

Let 1-2 bags unthaw depending how much sauce you want to make

Add the fresh tomatoes from the bag as if you were using a can of tomatoes

Make your favorite sauce recipe

Remember we didn't add spices to the frozen tomatoes so add your spices now and garlic and onions!

Below is the sauce I made using my frozen tomatoes