20lbs of tomatoes... What to do?!

All -

So I ran into a ton of cheap tomatoes last weekend from a local farmer by my parents house in Michigan. Most are about at their peak ripeness so I need to make use of them fast.

I was thinking to do about half into a a ed sauce and the other half into salsa and canning them.

Anyone have a favorite salsa recipe they would suggest for something like this? I know I could hit google and come up with about 11000 but I figured I would see if any of you had any that are your favorite tried true and tested.

Going to be a fun night!

If you're looking to make just a standard salsa, for every two tomatoes (med to large) put one small white onion, 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, 1-2 chopped jalpeno peppers (plus seeds depending on heat preference), the juice of 1/2 of a lime and a pinch of salt into a food processor and go to town. I make it every week and it's never let me down.

Hi,

Last weekend, a friend and I made two huge batches of marinara sauce using about 24 pounds plum tomatoes for each batch. We canned another 40 pounds of regular tomatoes for future use. When I seeded the tomatoes I did it over a sieve on a juice container. I collected 1.5 gallons of juice, which I later added vegetables for my homemade V-8 juice.

This weekend was peaches and a bushel of green beans.

I have a diary partially written on this endeavor. I can advise it was beyond an evenings effort to do.

For solid canning advice, then go to the National Center for Food Preservation website. There is a link to it on the 3rd page of the Reference forum.

Regards,

tomato pesto: lotsa tomato, lotsa basil, some parmesan, salt, and pepper. Whirl in a food processor. Freezes well.

I got 20 lbs last weekend, blanched and peeled them all. Canned six pints and froze two quarts of whole tomatoes. Cooked down the rest with some carrots, celery, and onion to about 3 quarts of tomato sauce, per the Joy of Cooking.

Plan to make a bunch of meatballs to freeze tonight, to be cooked in said tomato sauce.

When I seeded the tomatoes I did it over a sieve on a juice container. I collected 1.5 gallons of juice

That tomato water, heated gently (don't boil) for 30 minutes or so and skimmed of solids, then strained through a coffee filter, makes a delightful consomme that's terrific by itself or as a base for many soups. Wonderful for risotto as well. By the end of the summer, I hope to have a quart or two in my freezer.

Not helpful with preserving, but I just had the delightful experience of watching a Spanish friend of mine casually knock out a gazpacho while cooking a full spaghetti dinner and chatting with me. She had some stale bread already soaked in water in the blender, threw in a couple ripe tomatoes, two seeded cubanelle peppers, a cucumber and some onion, topped off with a splash of vinegar and a splash of EVOO and salt, and just zizzed them up like it was nothing special. It was amazing, too - perfect balance of everything. When I expressed as much, she said "I do this every day...it's nothing."

I think the veg and bread were about a 1 to 1 proportion (except the onion, which I didn't see, and the tomato, which was about double) When I make it, I follow my mother's similar but more exacting recipe and it sometimes works, sometimes not...

You can make tomato water and make the best bloody mary's in the world (let me know if you need the recipe- I have it linked elsewhere)

Aaron Deacon wrote:I got 20 lbs last weekend, blanched and peeled them all. Canned six pints and froze two quarts of whole tomatoes.

If you have the freezer space, that's what I would do. I go through 5-10 lb of canned tomatoes every month between pasta sauce, casseroles, side dishes, etc. They freeze very well.

You could also make a big batch of mexican style roasted tomato sauce. Plenty of recipies out there, but you basically roast tomatoes, along with tomatillos, jalepenos in the over to concentrate the flavor, blend them together, and pour into a big skillet hot with oil and carmelized onions and garlic. Many variations on that theme. You can use it for enchiladas, tamales, etc.

I slice off the tops, drizzle with olive oil and roast in a single layer in my slow cooker. (2 hours on high, or 4 on low) Then cool, bag and freeze. These are great tossed with pasta through the winter.
Or serve with a sprinkle of parm.

kafein wrote:I slice off the tops, drizzle with olive oil and roast in a single layer in my slow cooker. (2 hours on high, or 4 on low) Then cool, bag and freeze. These are great tossed with pasta through the winter.
Or serve with a sprinkle of parm.

Do you slip off the skins after this process? I usually do.

Regards,

I suppose you could, but I don't. I figure extra fiber is always better.

This is unlikely to get you through anywhere near 20 pounds of tomatoes, but see this NYT article -- "So Many Tomatoes to Stuff in a Week" for some eat-now ideas.

When I was growing up, my dad would make chili-sauce out of super ripe tomatoes. All I can remember was boiling the tomatoes until the skin cracked and peeling the skin off. ??? I'm sure there's plenty of recipes on the internet for chili-sauce. Just an idea 'cause it's good on just about anything!

Dry them and then put them up in oil w/garlic

then next winter take some out and chop them roughly, put them on a corn tortilla that you've crisped up w/the oil the tomatoes were packed in and some greek sheep feta that reminds you of herodotus

SGFoxe wrote:Dry them and then put them up in oil w/garlic

How is the jar sealed? What conditions are they being stored?

Regards,

SGFoxe wrote:Dry them and then put them up in oil w/garlic

I would be very cautious about including fresh garlic in any oil preparation because of the risk of botulism. Even the dried tomatoes should be briefly acidified by soaking in vinegar.

See instructions here.