Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 295 kcal | 84 kcal |
| Protein | 14.7 g | 4.2 g |
| Fat | 3.3 g | 0.9 g |
| saturated | 0.5 g | 0.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 44.2 g | 12.5 g |
| sugars | 42.5 g | 12.1 g |
| Fibre | 19.6 g | 5.6 g |
| Sodium | 82 mg | 23 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 3.2 kg fresh ripe tomatoes
- 2 large-sized green peppers
- 1 large onions
- 1 garlic cloves
- 1 large carrots
- 1 jar pimentos
Instructions
- Use tomatoes that are fully ripe and soft, including the ones too ugly to serve. This reduces fifteen kilos of fruit to a few sheets, so flavour is the only thing that survives the process.
- Core the tomatoes and blend them with the green peppers, onions, garlic, carrots and pimentos until completely smooth. The carrots are the hardest thing in the jug and they decide how long the blender runs.
- Push the puree through a sieve and throw away the skin and pips left behind. Tomato skin does not break down and dries into tough flecks that will jam a grinder later.
- Simmer the sieved puree in a wide uncovered pan for several hours, stirring often and scraping the base. This is where the sauce is actually made — the volume roughly halves — and one scorched patch taints the entire batch.
- Wait until the sauce mounds on a spoon before it goes anywhere near a tray. Thin sauce runs to the edges of a sheet and dries as a ring with nothing in the middle.
- Spread it evenly across lined sheets and dry at 60 °C for 7 hours. Tomato is acidic enough to pit a bare metal tray, so the liner is not optional.
- Stop while it is still flexible for leather, or carry on until a corner snaps for powder. The difference is a couple of hours at the end, and a sheet can always go back in.
- Let the sheets go completely cold, then break them up and grind them in short bursts. Warm tomato is tacky and coats the inside of the grinder rather than powdering.
- Store the powder in a small jar, filled to the top and firmly closed, for six months. It pulls water out of the air harder than anything else you will make — if it does set solid, break it up and dry it again rather than throwing it out.
