Easy Jarred Tomatoes
Ready for the freezer!
If you’re family, you’ve eaten these delicious flavor bombs your whole life. It’s 2020 right now and so far we’ve all survived it, and it’s August 1st, so I am in the throes of canning season…but I am lazy and fast and effective, so here’s what you do and some pictures to assist.
Pour a good two tablespoons or so of olive oil on a normal sized cookie sheet with deep side and spread the olive oil around with your fingers. Rub the rest into the skin on your arms. Use your fingers to pinch up a good amount of salt and sprinkle it over the olive oil. Make sure that you get the salt evenly distributed and that you use plenty. Try not to overdo it but don’t be chinchy either.
Erma Bombeck once wrote a whole story about being shunned for having a new cookie sheet. They are no good until they’re seasoned and show some wear and stains.
Collect your tomatoes, a dozen or two, and cut off the stem end then slice the tomato in half. Lay the tomatoes cut-side down on the cookie sheet and place into a 350 degree oven.
Ready to go into the oven. So beautiful.
Roast the tomatoes until the skins shrivel and the tops of the skins begin to brown. I don’t know how long this takes—30-45 minutes maybe? Carefully remove the very juicy cookie sheet from the oven. Place on the cooktop or trivets and allow to cool.
Not my finest photographic moment—they really didn’t turn brown! They are rich and juicy and well seasoned and ready for those skins to slide right off.
Once the tomatoes are cool, the skins will slide right off. Remove all of the skins and use a canning funnel and large spoon to scoop the tomatoes and the delicious juices into canning jars. Once you’ve completed this, wipe the jar rims with a clean towel, put lids and rings on, and put the jars into the refrigerator until they are cold, them put them into the freezer. They will keep for years in a deep freeze but they won’t last that long.
Use the tomatoes in everything from spaghetti sauce to vegetable soup. Do remember that they are pre-salted, careful there!
When you just can’t figure out an easy meal, use a jar of tomatoes over some freshly cooked pasta—heat them up in the same pot you used to boil the pasta to save a pan and washing up, and just pour the heated tomatoes over your steaming pasta. Yum! This is a Martina and Mama favorite.
