Pickles and Preserves Recipes - Bottled Tomatoes Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 4 jars

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Method:

1. Peel the tomatoes, cut into quarters and remove the seeds. Peel the onions and cut in half. Peel the garlic and chop finely.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F, Gas mark 4. Fill a deep roasting tin with 3 cm/1 % in water.

3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and briefly fry the onions and garlic. Add the tomato pieces, vinegar, herbs, sugar, salt and pepper; heat up again, stirring all the time.

4. Continue cooking the vegetables for another 15 minutes, stirring now and again. Season to taste.

5. Fill four preserving jars, each of about 250 ml/8 oz (2 cups), with the tomato mixture and put in the roasting tin. Put it on the bottom shelf of the oven.

6. As soon as the tomato mixture starts to bubble, reduce the oven temperature to 150°C/300°F, Gas mark 2. Take the jars out of the oven after 30 minutes.

Note: No special cooking equipment is needed to bottle tomatoes - just an ordinary oven will do. You can decide for yourself what to bottle with the tomatoes: shallots, red onions, white onions, spring onions (scallions), garlic, sliced leeks, sliced carrots, strips of celery, and so on.