Lucy's Tomato Passata

One thing I have really enjoyed over the past few months is having a vegetable garden of my very own. Our own little patch of land meant that I went a little overboard at the garden store and ended up with more tomato plants than our household could handle.

Tomato harvest from the garden

The abundance of tomatoes provided the perfect opportunity to make some delicious passata for my Italian dishes.

Ready for the oven

Passata is traditionally made of uncooked tomatoes, pureed and strained of seed and skins. I usually buy these in big glass bottles from the supermarket but making my very own is so much better, wouldn't you agree?

My version of passata involves adding some capsicums and chilies for spice, herbs for flavour and some garlic for.. well.. some garlicky goodness! I also like to put it in the oven to mellow out the sharp tomato flavour. Cooking the tomatoes also means you can go ahead and puree the skins. The cooking fills the house with a fantastic aroma too!

Take advantage of the waning tomato season and make your very own passata. What kind of extras will you put in yours?

Lucy's Tomato Passata (makes 800mL)
A Lucyeats Original

Ingredients

2kg ripe tomatoes
2 capsicums
1 bulb garlic
2 green chili peppers
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons white sugar
Fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and basil
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2.  Cut tomatoes and capsicums into large pieces and place onto an oven tray. Break up the garlic bulb into unpeeled cloves and add to the tray.
3. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently.
4. Place the tray into the oven and bake for 1 hour or until tomatoes have become soft.
5. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Squeeze the flesh out of each garlic clove and discard the skins.
7. Place the tomatoes and garlic in a food processor and process to a puree.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste if required.

Hot and Sour Soup

I've recently been caught in a very busy time at work - I'm talking almost 60 hour weeks and coming in on the weekends type stuff. I usually have a pretty good work-life balance, but it was thrown out the window when we encountered some very tight deadlines.

I complained about this sudden increased workload to my friend but, instead of getting sympathy like I had expected, I got a "this is not normal for you? I always work 60 hours a week!" 

That shut me up quick.

Luckily, the busy spell is now over and I can share one of my favourite quick meals with you. The bright flavours wake me up and makes it a perfect pick-me-up after a long day. Best of all, it doesn't take very long to make!

My hot and sour soup is mostly made up of staples I have at home - eggs, a stock cube, bamboo shoots and tomatoes and coriander from the garden. The only thing we had to buy on the day was tofu. 

The stock and preserved vegetable packet provides enough salt to the dish, so the only extra flavour that is added is a tablespoon of white vinegar and a table spoon of chili oil to give the soup its hot and sour notes. The bamboo shoots and preserved veggies bring a nice crunch while the tofu brings a softer touch.

Pretty much every Chinese family has their own take on Hot and Sour Soup and this one is just my very own variation. My mother likes to add pork in hers, but I eventually phased that out to make it suitable for my many vegetarian friends. 

What do you like to cook after a long day out? Do you have your own variant of Hot and Sour Soup?

Hot and Sour Soup
A Lucyeats Original

Ingredients:

2 tsp vegetable oil
4-6 medium sized tomatoes, sliced into wedges
1 Tbs Shaoxing wine
250g bamboo shoots (in strips)
1 80g packet of preserved vegetables (in strips)
3 cups stock (use chicken or vegetable)
4 medium sized eggs, beaten
2 tsp cornflour
2 Tbs cold water
1 Tbs white vinegar
1 Tbs chili oil
250g block of tofu, roughly sliced into thick strips
white pepper and chopped coriander to serve

Method:

1. Heat up the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan or wok over medium heat. 
2. When the oil gets hot, Add the tomatoes and stir until the skins start to come off. Add the Shaoxing wine and let cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the preserved vegetables, bamboo shoots and stock and bring to a boil.
4. Slowly drizzle the beaten egg into the soup, stirring as you go, to create light egg ribbons.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the cornflour and cold water into a slurry. Add the slurry until the soup thickens into the desired consistency.
6. Add the chili oil and white vinegar to taste.
7. Turn off the heat and add tofu.
8. Ladle into bowls and add white pepper and coriander to serve.