The Artisans Bottega · artisansbottega.com.au/pages/recipe/homemade-passata-with-a-tomato-machine
Sauce Making · Italian passata
Homemade Passata with a Tomato Machine
The Italian family tradition: turn a box of ripe tomatoes into smooth passata, bottle it and enjoy summer tomatoes all year. A tomato machine does the hard work.
Wash. Wash the tomatoes, cut out any bad spots and halve them.
Soften. Blanch them in batches in boiling water for 3–5 minutes until the skins split, then drain well.
Pass and bottle
Pass. Feed the warm tomatoes through the tomato machine. Pass the skins and seeds through a second time to get every bit of pulp.
Fill. Put 15 mL of lemon juice and a basil leaf in each clean bottle, then fill with passata to about 3 cm from the top.
Cap. Press on the 53 mm caps firmly.
Heat-process
Boil. Stand the bottles upright in a large pot, separated with tea towels so they don't knock together. Cover with water by at least 5 cm, bring to the boil and boil for 45 minutes.
Cool. Let the bottles cool in the water overnight, then check every cap is sealed.
Tip: Store in a cool, dark place and use within 12 months. Refrigerate once opened.
Every family makes passata a little differently. Use this recipe as a starting point and adjust it to suit your taste.
Some cook the passata with onion and basil before bottling, while others keep it raw and pure. Write down what you changed so your next batch turns out just the way you like it.
Safety information
Always add the lemon juice: tomatoes alone may not be acidic enough to store safely. Process the bottles fully submerged, and throw away any bottle with a bulging cap, leaking seal, mould or an off smell.
