Rev. Peanut's Passata

Passata:

Necessary Items:

About 1kg of ripe tomatoes, assuming the beagle hasn’t eaten them all

The desired quantity of ripe, red chillies (Go on, be brave)

3 cloves of garlic, quartered, but not hung nor drawn. That’d be cruel.

3 tablespoons of olive oil

A couple of basil leaves, if you like.

A mouli

How to do it:

• Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds, depending on your time zone.

• Remove and allow to dry by evaporation for a few minutes. Or you could use a hair dryer if you’re busy and important and time is money.

• Place the tomatoes in the mouli and squeeze ‘em into a conveniently placed bowl.

• Chuck the left over skins on the compost heap.

• In a saucepan, heat the oil and fry the garlic and chilli until the edges of the garlic are starting to brown.

• Add the tomato and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Turn off the heat and let the sauce sit for about half an hour or so.

• When cool, remove the chilli and the lumps of garlic and half fill a glass jar (750ml) with the sauce. Chuck in the basil leaves and top up the jar with the rest of the sauce. Put the lid on tight and refrigerate. Lock the fridge – beagles are clever. Should be ready to use in about a week.