Summer's Done: Freezing Whole Tomatoes
I described my process for freezing sweet corn. This week I'll talk about another way to save up the flavors of summer against the impending doldrums of winter: freezing fresh tomatoes.
I know that many of you (including some of the commenters on last week's post) are putting to shame my mere dozen ears of corn and four pounds of tomatoes. My hat is off to you as you're loading basement shelves with mason jars and filling double-sized freezers with vacuum-sealed bags. I wish I had the time and space for such ambitious preserving projects.
But then again, putting up food for the winter doesn't need to be an epic endeavor. A bagful of treats from the farmers market and a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon will give you some bright-tasting treats you'll be glad to have on hand when facing the duller flavors of winter food.
My process for freezing sweet corn is somewhat tried-and-true: I've used it for the past several years. Freezing tomatoes, though, is new to me, so the process below is one that I sort of made up as I went along. Of course I can't say much about how they came out as it'll be a few months before I know that. All I know at this point is that they're packed up and frozen solid. Read how I did it, after the jump.
Here's what I did: After washing the tomatoes I cut a shallow 'x' in the bottom of each one. I blanched them in a large pot of boiling water for five minutes, just long enough to loosen their skins. Then I transferred them to a bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking.
I placed a strainer in a large bowl, and holding each tomato over it I scooped out the cores and slipped off the skins. These were dropped into the strainer. I then poked my fingers through the outer layer of tomato flesh and scooped out the seeds, allowing them to drop into the strainer and catching the liquid that drained off in the bowl underneath. The skinned and seeded tomatoes went into a separate bowl.
When I'd done all of the tomatoes like this I squeezed as much liquid as possible out of the seeds and skins and discarded them. I then stirred the reserved liquid into the peeled tomatoes and divided this mixture equally among ziplock bags (each quart-sized bag held about 2 pounds of tomatoes and juice). I squeezed as much air out of the bags as possible, sealed them, and placed them in the freezer.
Now in winter, I'll have summer tomatoes as a base for pasta or pizza sauces. I'll report back to you all on how they turned out. Some of you may be thinking: "tomatoes come out so well when canned - why not can them instead?" Well, the truth is, as of this writing I've never canned. Each summer for the past five years was to be the Summer I Learn to Can, but it's yet to happen. Will it be this year? If it does, you'll be the first to know.
Cherry Tomato Pizza Margherita
Bon Appétit | April 2010
by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen
Yield: Makes 4 main-course servings
Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Use a rolling pin or meat mallet to crush the fennel seeds. Fresh mozzarella can be found at many supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Italian markets.
Ingredients
1 13.8-ounce tube refrigerated pizza dough
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 12-ounce bag cherry tomatoes, stemmed
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed in plastic bag
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 4-ounce ball fresh mozzarella in water (ovoline), diced
4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves plus small leaves for garnish
Preparation
Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Unroll dough on heavy large baking sheet; pull to about 12x8-inch rectangle, pinching any tears to seal. Fold over edge of dough to make border.
Heat large skillet over high heat 2 minutes. Add oil, then tomatoes; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tomatoes are charred and beginning to break down, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in garlic, fennel, and crushed red pepper. Using back of fork, crush tomatoes in bowl, leaving large chunks intact. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Toss cheeses and chopped basil in medium bowl.
Sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over dough, right up to border. Spoon on tomato mixture in dollops, leaving some cheese uncovered. Bake pizza until crust is crisp and brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Loosen pizza with metal spatula and slide onto board. Garnish with basil leaves.
See the rest of the 15 best pizza recipes on Epicurious.com
By David Klopfenstein
MORE FROM EPICURIOUS.COM
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How to safely can jams, jellies, and pickles at home
