I made gallons and gallons of tomato basil soup....
Sorry, I have no recipe as such....I'm just dealing with bushels of tomatoes!
In my heavy, clad bottomed soup pot, Iput as Rachel Ray would say, "twice around the bottom of EVOO" And added half a head of celery cut up, and one very large sweet onion.
While these were slowly sauteeing I scalded and peeled tomatoes....LOTS of tomatoes! LOL! And put them into a bowl.
When the celery was beginning to soften I added garlic..4 big cloves, 5 or 6 if they are small, and when the garlic has softened about 3 minutes I added chicken broth...my own I used a 3 cup container of frozen, but I ran out after 2 batches of soup and used 2 cans of low salt broth.
Meanwhile had filled my big bowl (4 quarts)w ith peeled and cut up fresh tomatoes.....and I dumped them into the pot.
For the first batch of soup, I added a package of my own frozen roasted red peppers....about 3 peppers. For later batches, I used jarred roasted red peppers....a 10 oz jar.
I let it simmer, hit it briefly with the hand held blender, and added about 1/4 cup of rough chopped fresh parsley and 1/2 cup of rough chopped basil and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes, and a good 1/2 glass of merlot.
Believe it or not...I added no salt! I served it to friends several times and passed the salt and said "it might need salt" and 3 times people refused.... But perhaps the fact that I served it with a toasted cruton and a pile of grated cheese on top abd browned the cheese in the broiler helped! LOL!
It's yummy...I have a bunch in the freezer and have eaten a lot and given a bunch away.
Good luck.
Linda C

Do you want a savory tomato preserve (i.e. a tomato-basil jelly for bruschetta, etc.) or do you want a sweeter tomato preserve, as in a tomato jam or tomato marmalade?

Carol

My mother made a tomato preserve that was great on toast. It was sweet (like a marmalade) with lemon rind slices in it.

RobinKate has a great recipe like that, she sent me a jar and it's delicious. I have the recipe at home and so don't have access to it right now, but maybe she'd post it for you.

Annie

In case RobinKate doesn't see this, here's the recipe with her comments at the end. I was also lucky enough to receive a jar. I know her little boys would be very sad if there wasn't any tomato marmalade. They love it.

TOMATO ORANGE MARMALADE

This recipe has a small yield, so it's not necessary to sterilize and process the jars if you plan on keeping the marmalade in the refrigerator and eating it within a few weeks. But if you want to make larger batches, process the jars.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 day
3 lb ripe beefsteak tomatoes, peeled and chopped, reserving any juices
3 cups sugar
2 juice oranges, quartered, seeded, and sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
1 lemon, quartered, seeded, and sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick
1/8 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: 3 (1/2-pint) canning jars (optional) with lids and screw bands; a wide 5- to 6-quart heavy pot (at least 9 1/2 inches in diameter)
If desired, sterilize jars, lids, and screw bands.
Chill 2 small plates (for testing marmalade).

Cook all ingredients, including reserved juices from tomatoes, in pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. Simmer, stirring frequently as marmalade thickens (to prevent scorching) and adjusting heat as needed, until marmalade tests done, 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hours. Begin testing for doneness after 50 minutes: Drop a spoonful of marmalade on a chilled plate, then tilt; it should remain in a mound and not run (if necessary, remove pot of marmalade from heat while testing).

If not processing, cool marmalade, uncovered, then chill in an airtight container (preferably glass).

If processing, drain jars upside down on a clean kitchen towel 1 minute, then invert. Ladle marmalade into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top. Run a thin knife between marmalade and jar to eliminate air bubbles.

Seal, process, and store filled jars (and boil marmalade in jars 10 minutes).

Let marmalade stand in jars at least 1 day for flavors to develop.

Cooks' note:
Marmalade keeps, chilled, 3 weeks.
Makes 3 (1/2-pint) jars.
Gourmet
August 2003

I always get more than 3 jars, usually more like 5 and a half or so. It keeps much longer than 3 weeks in the fridge. I find that there is no reason to start testing until the mixture stops looking like both liquid and solid and more like one texture.

The whole peel of the oranges and lemons are in this. No painstaking scraping of pith from the rinds.

I have never made it with beefsteak tomatoes, I have always used heirlooms. I think my favorite for this is Pink Brandywine. My friend who tried it the other day says she will plant whatever variety I want this summer and I can have tomatoes in exchange for teaching her to can. She is afraid her DH will leaver her for me if she doesn't learn to make Annie's Salsa. LOL!
RobinKate

Carol, I made the Tomato Orange Marmalade today (wish me luck it was made with tomatoes I canned in their own juice this summer) so I have some additional notes on this recipe and how I make it. Firstly I cut the oranges and lemon with a mandoline (actually a V-slicer) to the finest thickness it can do. I think it is about 1/16th of an inch instead of the 1/8 the recipe suggests. Also I cook it over high heat the whole time stirring almost constantly. Someone had mentioned that it took them 2 hours of cooking time to gel when they made it. My time with small children is limited and I would rather cook more intensely for 35 minutes then less strenuously for 2 hrs.

OK, I have a simpler recipe that is how my mother and grandmother made it. I have never made it with citrus because I want the burst of tomato flavor. They didn't make it with citrus because it was expensive to buy.

If you ate tomato preserves as a kid, it's a blast from the past. If not, you may or may not like it. I gave some away at Christmas time and was surprised at the reactions. What a loss, so many people who have never heard of tomato preserves! One man, however, accepted his jar with joy. He said he hadn't had tomato preserves since his grandmother died.
Heat 6 cups chopped tomatoes (juice and all) with 5 cups sugar and a pat of butter. Cook to jelly point. (it doesn't take anywhere near 2 hours) Turn off heat and add about 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground cloves, stirring well. Pour into hot pint jars and seal. You can use fresh tomatoes or canned.

Have you ever eaten breaded tomatoes? My grandmother used to make them a lot. She would use a jar of chopped tomatoes, broken pieces of bread,(enough to soak up the tomato juice), a pat or two of butter, maybe 1/2 cup of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Then she'd bake this in a casserole dish till the top was slightly browned and crusty. I loved it but DH is not a fan, so I hardly ever make it now.

Hope this helps! --Ilene

This is a great soup, I didn't add the cream but it was really good without it, doesn't really need it! Use as much basil as you like. I like mine strained so it didn't have the seeds or pieces of skin.

Roasted Tomato Soup
recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
posted Maggie

2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 small yellow onions, sliced
Vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, optional
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside the roasted vine tomatoes for later). Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Wash and dry basil leaves, if using, and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish in bowl with 3 or 4 roasted vine cherry tomatoes and a splash of heavy cream.

Ilene, My recipe does not take 2 hours, I was just commenting that someone else who made it used the low heat the recipe calls for and it took 2 hours. Your recipe sounds good but as written it is not safe to can. Current tomatoes are not all high in acid so to ensure a safe product you need to add acid. If you added citric acid to your jars I am sure it would not be noticed in the taste and you could be sure it was safe. As there is so much sugar I would just add 1/8 tsp per pint of citric acid.

Carol, Thanks for posting that.

-Robin

Ilene, this is one of my main reasons for preserving summer tomatoes. You absolutely cannot make really good breaded tomatoes with store canned tomatoes (I guess because of the firming agents that are added). My mom and grandma made these when I was growing up and I love them to this day. We didn't bake them; just made them in a skillet. I think I'll try baking them to get that crust, though.

Judi

"Have you ever eaten breaded tomatoes? My grandmother used to make them a lot. She would use a jar of chopped tomatoes, broken pieces of bread,(enough to soak up the tomato juice), a pat or two of butter, maybe 1/2 cup of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Then she'd bake this in a casserole dish till the top was slightly browned and crusty. I loved it but DH is not a fan, so I hardly ever make it now."

Funny, I'd forgotten about that bread and tomato side dish, Grandma used to make it a lot, but she never added sugar.

RobinKate, my tomatoes were horrible this year, and already finished. 65 plants and I only managed to can about 30 quarts of tomatoes and 14 pints of salsa. The first batch of plants froze in June with that late frost and the new ones never got a chance to catch up before it turned cool. Ah well, Dad used to say that farming (and gardening) was like playing poker with God.

Next year, maybe, I'll make those tomato preserves. I did make popovers last week with your recipe and they were just as good as always. Elery loved them and he's never had popovers before. They almost remind me of french toast for some reason...

Annie

Hi carmen_grower_2007.

Tomato preserves are great on toasted English muffins, too. Here's the recipe from Joy of Cooking for a sweeter/marmalade-type preserve. I think the cinnamon is key to the flavor.

Tomato Preserves

1 lb. tomatoes (yellow tomatoes may be used with especially fine results.)
Cover tomatoes with an equal amount of sugar. Let stand for 12 hours.
Drain the juice & boil it until the syrup falls from a spoon in heavy drops.
Add the tomatoes and:
- grated rind and juice of 1 lemon OR 2 thinly sliced seeded lemons
- 2 oz. gingerroot OR preserved ginger OR a 4 inch stick of cinnamon.

Cook the preserves until thick.

Source: Joy of Cooking, 1975

I like this one from Betty Groff.

Ruth's Tomato Casserole

4 slices bacon, cut in 1" pieces
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 cups peeled and chopped fresh tomatoes
2 cups bread cubes
3 T. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

In a heavy skillet, fry the bacon and onion until golden brown. Add tomatoes, bread cubes, sugar and salt and mix until well blended. Pour into a buttered 2-quart casserole and bake in a preheated 350 oven 30 minutes. Serves 4-6.

For a savory jelly, try this one from The Jamlady Cookbook.

Tomato-Basil Jelly

10 cups sugar
4 cups freshly extracted tomato juice
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
2 3-ounce packages liquid pectin
6 drops Louisiana Hot Sauce or Tabasco
6 tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves

Cook basil leaves with tomato juice. Strain out most of the basil. Measure out 4 cups of juice. Add lemon juice, hot sauce, and sugar. Boil 1 minute. Add pectin; boil 1 minute longer. Check set. Boil longer if necessary.

BWB 10 minutes.

Carol

Mark Bittman had a great recipe for tomato jam in the NY Times about 2 weeks ago. You can google it. My son made it a few days ago and it is superb. It was made with about a pound and a half of fresh Romano tomatoes, sugar, cumin, coriander, cloves, hot pepper, I am not sure what else, but not much. It cooked for an hour and a half. It is wonderful on meat or turkey.