Tomato Sauce (Like Ketchup not Passata!)

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Nanna-Rific Tomato Sauce
(Like Ketchup - but Australian!)

• 10 kilos of ripe tomatoes- chopped roughly
  
• 2.5 kilos of granny smiths - cored and peeled and chopped roughly
  
• 30g of ground ginger
  
• 30g of whole cloves*
  
• 30g of whole allspice*
• 1 tsp of mace
  
• 30g cayenne pepper
  
• 1 litre white vinegar
• 1.5 kg  sugar
• 8 tablespoons of  salt
• 2kg chopped onions

* bundle these up in some muslin or calico with string to keep closed and pop in - you need to take it out once cooking time is up, though.
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What to do:
Put all ingredients into a very large pan. Boil for 3.5 to 4 hours.  Blend or sieve to make for a smoother consistency.  Bottle in sterilised jars.  Make adorable labels with smiling tomatoes on them.  Give to people for Christmas!  Bravo!

(If you like - add a few cloves of garlic, cumin seeds and some chilli for a bit more gusto!)
Let me know how you go - if you make some too!

xx Mikes

Kylie Kwong Chilli Sauce

Today I have been making fresh chilli sauce a la Kylie Kwong.  The recipe is from here , and YES this is the crazy-bountiful sauce Kyles made on Masterchef!  It is really delicious and super spicy and sweet and most of this batch is for this gal! I quadrupled the recipe, because I like a LOT of chilli in my house!  I am totes spicy, ya know? Yep.

Kylie Kwong's Divine Homemade Chilli Sauce

Homemade Chilli Sauce

Makes 1/2 cup (125 ml)

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) peanut oil
• 4 long red chillies, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 7 cm knob ginger, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamari

Pound chillies, garlic and ginger to a paste using a pestle and mortar.

Heat oil in a wok until moderately hot. Add paste and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Add sugar and stir for 1 minute or until sugar caramelises, then stir through tamari. Reduce heat to low and cook, still stirring, for a further 5 minutes. The chilli sauce can be used straight away, or allowed to cool and then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

xx Pip

My Favourite Mayonnaise

3 egg yolks
600ml of good quality (but not too strongly flavoured) oil
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp of seeded mustard
1 tbsp of Lee and Perrins worcestershire sauce
1 slosh of tabasco sauce
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

In a food processor, beat egg yolks with mustards until well combined and a bit airy. Slowly, oh so very slowly add the oil, trickle by trickle. The mayonnaise will slowly thicken and combine. When you've carefully added all the oil, add the worcestershire sauce, the lemon juice, the tabasco and the salt and pepper. Then add half a tablespoon of boiling water to lighten the whole mix up. Store in the fridge.

Pump Up The Jam - Tomato Jam

vintage tomato thermometer via here


This is the tomato jam they used to serve at Stephanie's in Hawthorn long, long ago. Du-re got me hooked on this - and then it disappeared forever from my life, when Stephanie's disappeared. So sad - and we definately need to bring back the jam

I'm making regular Nanna-style tomato sauce at this very moment - but I'm going to make this tomato jam this week too.

I'm in a total preserving, bottling, pickling frenzy! I am just feathering my nest, I think... well, bottling at least. I have sweet, romantic notions of a pantry super-lined with bottles and jars of good stuff - just waiting to be popped open and enjoyed.

Anyway... here is the recipe for the tomato jam i am GOING to make!



Tomato Jam
4kg of ripe tomatoes
200ml light vegetable oil
4 tbsp cumin seeds, lightly roasted
2 tbsp mustard seeds, soaked overnight in 400ml of white wine vinegar
200g fresh ginger grated finely
20 cloves garlic
10 red chillis (perhaps a bit less - i think 4)
2 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp sambal oelek
250g palm sugar
100ml fish sauce (or you could add 50ml of light soy and the juice of one lemon to make this vegan or vegetarian - I'm doing that so I can give some to Gemma and Hollie and Molly too. You're important!)

OKAY - First place the tomatoes in a roasting pan with the oil. Cover with foil and roast for 4 hours at 180 degrees. I think I'm going to do this in a pressure cooker - to speed it up - my pressure cooker is huge and will preserve all the juices. Plus - my oven is tiny and portable. It can't do this!

Pass the roasted tomatoes through a food mill - or blend and then sieve.

Process remaining ingredients until pastey. Cook this paste over a low heat in a heavy pan for 1 hour. Add the pureed, roasted tomatoes and cook for a further 2 hours. Bottle in sterile jars.