[JohnB47]

OK,

I've got a fair number of ripe toms now and a lot of green ones, so two questions, bearing in mind that I'm about to go on hols for two weeks.

Question 1: Does anyone have a good recipe for making (to freeze) a tomato sauce from the ripe ones? A sauce that would be nice and rich for using to make spag bol or with a pizza?

Question 2: If I remove the green ones from the bushes now, and put them in the fridge, would they still be usable to make something with (fried green tomatoes or chutney?) when I get back)? I won't be able to water them when away - I'll split open the grow bags and they'll just have to look after themselves.

Thanks all.

[Mrs Bee]

The green tomatoes are great in curries or in chutneys or piccalilli if you make your own chutneys.

I make an all purpose tomato sauce to go on pizza's or as a base for spag bol

1 large onion finely chopped
1clove finely chopped garlic
1 tab olive oil
400g skinned and chopped tomatoes
2 tabs tomato paste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
a pinch of oregano

Onion and garlic in the oil; cook till translucent not brown.
Add all the remaining ingredients.
Stir to mix and leave to simmer until thick and sauce like.

You can add other herbs as you like.

Have you considered skinning the tomatoes and freezing them in bags to deal with later.

Or making a tomato and basil soup.

[GrannieAnnie]

I don't make my pasta sauces and soups then freeze them.  I chop and freeze the tomatoes in 1 lb bags or margarine tubs, then make my sauces etc as and when needed.  I even leave the skins on, because once they are blitzed, you can't see the skins!  

A couple of years ago I treated myself to a passata machine, and yesterday I blitzed a big dish of toms, put the passata into margarine tubs and froze them.  I put the cheap sandwich bags in the tub, then fill that up.  tie the top and freeze, then once frozen I take the bag out of the tub and stck them in my big freezer in the garage until needed

[mumofstig]

I even leave the skins on, because once they are blitzed, you can't see the skins! 

I tried that this year and unfortunately the skins are so tough (because they took a long while to ripen) I still 'found' the skins when I tasted the sauce 

They all ended up going through the mouli as usual 

[Mrs Bee]

I skinned mine 'cos the skins were tough too.

[JohnB47]

The green tomatoes are great in curries or in chutneys or piccalilli if you make your own chutneys.

I make an all purpose tomato sauce to go on pizza's or as a base for spag bol

1 large onion finely chopped
1clove finely chopped garlic
1 tab olive oil
400g skinned and chopped tomatoes
2 tabs tomato paste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
a pinch of oregano

Onion and garlic in the oil; cook till translucent not brown.
Add all the remaining ingredients.
Stir to mix and leave to simmer until thick and sauce like.

You can add other herbs as you like.

Have you considered skinning the tomatoes and freezing them in bags to deal with later.

Or making a tomato and basil soup.

Thanks for this and for all other suggestions.

Hmmm. Frreezing to  use later (whether skin on or off) is attractive and appeals to the procratinator in me! Also, time is getting short.

Ta.

[Madame Cholet]

You can freeze green ones too for chutney.

[shokkyy]

I run the tomatoes through my passata machine, which removes all the skins and seeds, then chuck the passata into jam jars and heat seal them. Whenever I need a pasta sauce I can just pull out a jar and add onions, garlic, herbs, whatever. Cherry tomatoes aren't so good as passata because they're too watery, so those I just bag up and freeze as is, then just pull them out and chuck them straight into a casserole frozen.

[crh75]

I cook the tomatoes (skins and all) with a little water, blitz them with a hand bender then pass it through a sieve.
This gets frozen in large yogurt tubs.