Nature has her own deadlines though so I had to get creative. Clearly there are the standard roast tomatoes, tomato sauces that can be frozen. But there is only so much space in our 3 freezers and they are pretty much full! So I've made Mexican inspired brunches (sort of Huevos Rancheros without the chilli) which is essentially chopped fried tomatoes and onions, whatever vegetables you might have to hand (here I used peas) with a well made for an egg in the middle - a really filling breakfast that is low calorie and healthy.
I also made ketchup which, to be honest, doesn't taste anything like the Heinz ketchup I am used to but is tasty none the less.
Ingredients
1 large red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
Chilli flakes to taste
Pickling spices
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 cloves
Sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup soft brown sugar
Place all the vegetables in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with a big splash of olive oil and the garlic, chili flakes, coriander seeds and cloves. Season with the pepper and a good pinch of salt.
Cook gently over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until softened, stirring every so often. Add all the tomatoes and 1 1/2 cups of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the sauce reduces by half.
Blend the sauce in a food processor or with a hand blender. Put the sauce into a clean pan and add the vinegar and the sugar. Place the sauce on the heat and simmer until it reduces and thickens to the consistency of tomato ketchup. At this point, correct the seasoning to taste.
Spoon the ketchup through a funnel into sterilized bottles, then seal tightly and place in a cool dark place or the refrigerator until needed - it should keep for 6 months.
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* Sterilizing Jars Tips:
To sterilize jars before filling with jams, pickles or preserves, wash jars and lids with hot, soapy water. Rinse well and arrange jars and lids open sides up, without touching, on a tray. Boil the jars and lids in a large saucepan, covered with water, for 15 minutes.
Or else pop some water in and microwave them.
As a rule, hot preserves go into hot jars and cold preserves go into cold jars.
