Love Food Hate Waste: Recipe of the Month

February is a wonderful time of year when gardens are full of produce. If your garden is producing more food than you can eat, don’t let it go to waste. Offer any excess that you have to your friends or neighbours or get busy in the kitchen preserving it for the rest of the year. 

If you have a glut of tomatoes, make the most of them by turning it into this easy pasta sauce which will keep for months, either in preserving jars or in the freezer.

Tomato Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

4kg ripe tomatoes (any size or variety)
Handful of basil leaves
6 teaspoons minced garlic or 8 cloves of garlic crushed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Chop the tomatoes roughly. 
2. Place everything in a large pot and simmer for about an hour until it is thick. Stir occasionally.
3. Blend with a stick blender or pass through a mouli.
4. If you are going to freeze the sauce, pour it into airtight containers or plastic bags, then pop into the freezer once cooled.
5. If you are going to preserve the sauce in jars, reheat the sauce until it is simmering then pour it into hot sterilised jars.
6. Fill the jars to the top and then pour a little boiling water over the top to make sure they are completely full.
7. Put on seal, centre and screw down hard. Leave to stand for 24 hours and check for vacuum seal.
8. You can then remove the ring. If any jars haven’t sealed, refrigerate and use within a week. The rest will keep for months in the cupboard.

Tip: Tomatoes shouldn’t be stored in the fridge – the cold temperature can damage them and they taste better when they are at room temperature.

For more ideas and recipes to reduce your food waste, visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz