This is the wonderful season of max produce …..the GLUT! The veg shares are worth far in excess of what we are paying for them, and there are TOO MANY COURGETTES AND CUCUMBERS!! But we all know this is only temporary and the glut will come to an end as autumn winds into winter … so , if we have the time, this is our chance to practice our preservation skills and save this lovely produce for the darker and leaner days to come.
Tomatoes can just simply be frozen whole without any other skill than tying a knot in the top of a plastic bag. They are great for cooking at anytime then … just chuck a frozen tomato or two into the pan to make pasta sauces or to add to stews or soups. Or you can stew them down now into a sauce/passata and freeze that (it takes less space than whole tomatoes) Can be bottled too.. You will never need to buy tinned tomatoes again!
Courgettes can be sliced and frozen.. I am making Courgette pies at the moment and freezing those in foil dishes …its a Greek recipe via Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook (my recipe bible) with cheese and eggs and herbs in a puff (or filo) pastry case.
Cucumbers ….. not freezable but great to make into pickles and there are lots of recipes out there. Ms Raven’s recipe is Sweet Cucumber Pickle : : ingredients : 3 large (or 5 COCA-sized) cucumbers, 2 onions, 50gr salt, 600ml white wine vinegar, 400gr white sugar, 5 whole cloves,1 tbsp mustard seeds, 1tsp celery (or fennel) seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric. Peel the cukes and cut into ribbons, Slice onions into half-moons,. Mix cuke and onion slices with salt, weight in a bowl and leave 2-3 hours . Rinse in cold water and leave to drip in a colander. Meanwhile vinegar, sugar and spices in saucepan, heat til sugar is dissolved. Add cuke and onion, bring to the boil and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat. Spoon veg into sterilised jars, straining off the liquor. Reheat the vinegar/spice mix and boil down for 10 minutes to reduce it. Pour the hot liquid over the cuke in the jars, seal. Can be stored for years. Delicious with cheese sandwiches or cold meat. Makes about 5 smallish jars.
Good luck …. enjoy!
