Tomato recipes

I know.  It seems an odd time of year to be posting tomato recipes.  But I promised recipes in my last post, and I'm still mourning my lost tomato plants, and it's still raining, so tomato recipes it is, in the hope of injecting a bit of sunshine.

Tomato and chilli jam
I think I cut this out of a Country Living magazine (the UK one) originally.  Make it exactly how you would make any normal jam.  It's lovely with cheese or sausages.

1.2kg ripe tomatoes
Juice of 5 lemons
1tsp crushed, dried chillies (I have tried it with fresh, which makes it difficult to predict the heat, and with chilli powder, in which case you need a bit less)
650g sugar

Roast tomatoes for freezing, with many uses

I make this up every time I do it.  (I think I started with this version of oven dried tomatoes but got lazy about chopping and measuring, so my version is really roasted tomatoes/sauce - they are not dried at all.)  I put it in pots in the freezer and use it whenever a recipe calls for tinned tomatoes (or even fresh ones sometimes), as pasta sauce and as a pizza topping.  Since it's made up I can't give quantities (follow the link above if you want a proper recipe!) but here's a rough idea of the process:

Put lots and lots of tomatoes in a baking tray, or several trays.  If they are big, chop into halves or quarters before putting them in the tray.  Mostly I don't bother.  I don't worry about removing seeds or skins; life's too short.  Anyone who doesn't like the skins is welcome to pick them out.

Dribble over several tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.  Add salt and some fresh or dried herbs - I normally use marjoram or oregano, sometimes a bit of thyme too.

Also add garlic.  If you feel like it, peel and chop (or use a garlic press) around half a dozen cloves per tray.  Confession: by the end of last summer I had got so lazy that I didn't even peel or chop, just threw them straight in there in their skins and when they'd softened (during or after the cooking process) squeezed them out, squashed them and mixed them in. I may have missed one or two...

Put they trays in the oven at around 150 degrees C and leave them until they look ready, stirring every now and again . They look ready when they've burst their skins (you can help them along a bit once they've softened), cooked down to a pulp, and thickened up (ie a lot of the juice has evaporated).