Leaning Vegetarian

Posts Tagged ‘tomatoes’

I have been very lucky in the draw for coworkers. Linda sends me home with cayennes and green beans, and Kathy and her husband go out to a tomato grower each year and bring back lots of tomatoes for anyone who asks. This is the lovely box we got this year and was very welcome especially in this year of tomato blight (I got four, count ‘em, four from eight tomato plants).

I was a little intimidated by the entire crate, especially while recovering from flu, but what’s better for recovery than something fresh, hot and spicy?

Start with eight large tomatoes, and a couple fresh jalapenos, depending on how much heat you like.  I’ll also use a couple rounded teaspoons of kosher salt; add half while cooking and adjust as it cooks down.

I’ve made this recipe before by boiling the tomatoes to remove the tomato skins (throw the jalapenos in while they’re boiling), but I thought it might add a nice note to roast them. So I put them under the broiler for a bit until the skins blackened a bit and split, let them cool, and peeled and cored them.

Remove the stem from the jalapeno, slice lengthwise and remove the seeds (a few left are fine). Put tomatoes and peppers in the blender and blend till smooth, or to your preference. I like these pureed to a smooth red sauce.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, adding half the salt. Turn the heat lower once it’s reached a boil, and let it simmer until it thickens a bit. These tomatoes were quite juicy so I wound up simmering it for much of an hour on low. Check the salt and add more if it needs it.

I might use a bit of this over burritos later in the week, if there’s any left.