Tomato Water

Usually made with raw tomatoes that have been pureed then allowed to drip through a jelly bag, this cooked version is a tomato passata by-product.

Fill a large preserving pot with roughly chopped fully-ripe tomatoes: depending on size of pot & taste, toss in 1tbs salt. Gently bring to simmer on medium heat stirring to prevent catching - about 30 minutes, until bubbles begin to break on the surface.

Cook just enough to release the juices, no more or the flesh will collapse. Rest off heat 30 minutes. Use a ladle to scoop out as much liquid as possible, up to half the volume from the pot, with a sieve to catch the solids.

A simple soup. Serve hot with a dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil or at room temperature with diced cucumber garnish.

More Soup here...

Slow-Roast Tomato

When you have a surplus of firm-fleshed sun-ripened tomatoes this is a very simple way to transform their flavour. Slice in half & lay in a roasting dish, cut side up, sprinkle with salt and drizzle over scant olive oil. Roast at 125deg for as long as it takes for them to semi-collapse - this could be 5 hours or more. Don't even think about turning the temperature up to speed the process as they will only burn rather than caramelise - and yes, you would taste the difference. You can sprinkled chopped thyme or oregano over at the start but do try them plain first. The end result is something akin to semi-dried, with extra zing.

Tomato Passata

Cook down the left-over pulp after making tomato water on a medium heat, to prevent burning & spluttering. Bottle into Agee jars when it finally boils fully, adding a dash of citric acid should the tomatoes be low in acid. Passata usually has the skin & seeds sieved out, but a rustic version of leaving them in is just as good. An essential base for winter soups and braises.

Edmonds Tomato Sauce

A large pot of Edmonds Tomato Sauce is made annually, sometime between the Autumn Equinox and the end of Daylight Saving, when the apple harvest is in full swing, the onions plaited & hung, and the last of the over-ripe tomatoes on the vine are demanding attention ahead of the frosts. Use white vinegar rather than malt for a brighter colour, though the end result is more russet than pure red. Cook out long and slow until the pot contents turn to pure mush - there will be few solids remaining once passed through a sieve. Cloves contribute to the classic favour, but don't bother with a spice bag to contain them as the sieve will catch any bits still whole. Apple & onion break down to form a nubbly texture with apple pectin also helping to thicken the mix.