1.5kg/3lb 5oz very ripe tomatoes (these need to be full of flavour and to smell of summer)
Salt and black pepper
1tbsp caster/superfine sugar
2tbsp red wine vinegar
If you have a few bottles of this stored in your kitchen, you are never more than ten minutes from dinner. It’s a wonderful way to capture the height of tomato season – kept in sealed bottles, this will give you a taste of summer all year round. Channel the Alibrandis here if you can – start with as many tomatoes as possible, and sit around in the back garden, the sun on your shoulders, hands covered in tomato seeds, surrounded by bowls full of pulped flesh.
Makes enough to fill at least a couple of large bottles/jars*
1. Pull the tomatoes off their vines, cut out the core and make a cross with your knife where you have removed it. Blanch in a pan of boiling water for 1 minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and place straight into iced water. The skins will now slip off easily. Do this in batches, or the tomatoes will cool the boiling water down when you drop them all in.
2. Squash the tomatoes to a pulp with your hands (take time over this bit and really enjoy it). Place over a low to medium heat to bubble away for about an hour. Push the sauce through a sieve to remove the seeds and boil again for another 20 minutes. You should have a rich, thick sauce.
3. Season with salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegar. Pour into hot, sterilized bottles for storage.
* Sterilize your bottles by washing them out, putting them in the sink, and pouring boiling water into them until it flows over the top. Once they’re cool enough to touch, tip the water out, and dry them completely in a very low oven (be sure to remove any plastic fittings or seals before you put them into the oven). Fill them while warm.