Hot chips and homemade tomato sauce. Does it get any better? This rich sauce has just the right balance of vinegary sweetness.
Makes about 2 litres
Ingredients
2kg fresh tomatoes, chopped roughly
400g can crushed tomatoes
2 large apples, chopped roughly
2 large onions, chopped roughly
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white or raw sugar
1 cup malt vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cloves
Method
1. Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a large pot and simmer vigorously for about 2 hours until sauce is completely pulpy – it ought to have thickened a bit by then too.
2. In batches, put it through a blender until smooth. Don’t over-blend as it will lighten the colour to orange.
3. Sterilise bottles or jars by heating them in an oven set at 100°C for 15 minutes.
4. Pour hot sauce into hot bottles or jars and seal with lids. Wipe clean and allow to cool.
Nici’s note:
I have always added a can of Italian tomatoes when making this sauce. I’m not even sure why any more, but I think it adds a richness to it. Malt vinegar is always too harsh for my taste so I like to combine it with a mix of malt, apple cider and red wine vinegars to soften it somewhat.
