Roast tomato puree

The onslaught of heavy rain after a dry period meant one thing for my outdoors tomatoes - split fruits.

The reason's simple - the tomatoes grew in very dry conditions, so the plants made sure the skins were the right size to produce nicely swollen fruit on the amount of moisture available. Along came the heavy rain and suddenly the plants are flush with water. This floods the fruits, the skins can't cope so they split.

This doesn't mean they go to waste of course. I turn split fruits into roast tomato puree. Slice off any damaged bits, and lay the halves on a baking tray. Sprinkle with a little sugar, cracked black pepper and salt, and a generous dibble of good quality olive oil. Add slivers of garlic to the tops of as many of the tomatoes as you can.

Roast in the oven for about 30 mins - the exact timing depends on the size of the fruits - at around 180C. Let them cool a little then press the flesh through a sieve. Put the skins and seeds in your composter and freeze or refrigerate the puree for use in soups, stews and pasta sauces. The flavour should be really sweet and rich.

Comments

[Haddock]

What a great idea. I was just throwing my split ones away! :)

[Alex Balan]

Cool idea :)

[Peggy]

I love this idea, I never would have thought of it. We had so many split tomatoes this season and I didn't know what to do with them all. So thanks again for this tip.