Homemade Tomato Conserva
This time of year is great for stocking up on produce. Stuck with too many tomatoes?
How about making tomato conserva? Add it to sauces, browned chicken, soups, like you would any store bought tomato paste but your dish will be that much more brilliant, not metallic tasting.
Ingredients:
- 5 pounds summer tomatoes
- olive oil as needed
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Recipe:
- Roughly chop the tomatoes.
- In a large skillet with high sides, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, then add the tomatoes and salt.
- Bring the mixture to a boil as they release water, and boil for 2 minutes.
- Pour into food mill with smallest plate OR peel the tomatoes first (the best way is to drop them in boiling water for 15-20 seconds, then quickly move them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking; the skins should easily slip off) and accept the presence of seeds OR you could peel them and proceed with the recipe, pushing the tomatoes through a strainer instead of a food mill to remove seeds. The big advantage of the food mill is that it can get rid of the seeds and the skins together.
- Pour the tomato mixture onto a large, rimmed baking pan
- Carefully put the sheet in a 300° oven. Bake, stirring the mixture every 30 or 40 minutes or whenever you think of it – make sure you really scrape up the edges and work them into the mixture as a whole each time – for about 3 1/2 hours (convection would take less time)
- Reduce heat to 250° and bake until “thick, shiny, and brick-colored.”
- let it cool and transfer to half-pint jars, leaving plenty of room at the top for a protective layer of olive oil.
Makes about 2-3 half pint jars
via L.A. Times
Short on time? Take your regular tomato paste up a notch.
New American Kitchen 
Whadaya Think?