Ingredients.—3 dozen tomatoes; to every pound of tomato-pulp allow 1 pint of Chili vinegar, 1 oz. of garlic, 1 oz. of shalot, 2 oz. of salt, 1 large green capsicum, ½ teaspoonful of cayenne, 2 pickled gherkins, 6 pickled onions, 1 pint of common vinegar, and the juice of 6 lemons. Mode.—Choose the tomatoes when quite ripe and red; put them in a jar with a cover to it, and bake them till tender. The better way is to put them in the oven overnight, when it will not be too hot, and examine them in the morning to see if they are tender. Do not allow them to remain in the oven long enough to break them; but they should be sufficiently soft to skin nicely and rub through the sieve. Measure the pulp, and to each pound of pulp add the above proportion of vinegar and other ingredients, taking care to chop very fine the garlic, shalot, capsicum, onion, and gherkins. Boil the whole together till everything is tender; then again rub it through a sieve, and add the lemon-juice. Now boil the whole again till it becomes as thick as cream, and keep continually stirring; bottle it when quite cold, cork well, and seal the corks. If the flavour of garlic and shalot is very much disliked, diminish the quantities. Time.—Bake the tomatoes in a cool oven all night. Seasonable from the middle of September to the end of October.
Note.—A quantity of liquor will flow from the tomatoes, which must be put through the sieve with the rest. Keep it well stirred whilst on the fire, and use a wooden spoon.
TOMATO SAUCE, Hot, to serve with Cutlets, Roast Meats, &c.
Ingredients.—6 tomatoes, 2 shalots, 1 clove, 1 blade of mace, salt and cayenne to taste, ¼ pint of gravy or stock. Mode.—Cut the tomatoes in two, and squeeze the juice and seeds out; put them in a stewpan with all the ingredients, and let them simmer gently until the tomatoes are tender enough to pulp; rub the whole through a sieve, boil it for a few minutes, and serve. The shalots and spices may be omitted when their flavour is objected to. Time.—1 hour, or rather more, to simmer the tomatoes. Average cost, for this quantity, 1s. In full season in September and October.
TOMATOES, Baked (Excellent).
Ingredients.—8 or 10 tomatoes, pepper and salt to taste, 2 oz. of butter, bread-crumbs. Mode.—Take off the stalks from the tomatoes; cut them into thick slices, and put them into a deep baking-dish; add a plentiful seasoning of pepper and salt, and butter in the above proportion; cover the whole with bread-crumbs; drop over these a little clarified butter; bake in a moderate oven from 20 minutes to ½ hour, and serve very hot. This vegetable dressed as above, is an exceedingly nice accompaniment to all kinds of roast meat. The tomatoes, instead of being cut in slices, may be baked whole; but they will take rather longer time to cook. Time.—20 minutes to ½ hour. Average cost, in full season, 9d. per basket. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Seasonable in August, September, and October; but may be had, forced, much earlier.
TOMATOES, Baked (another Mode).
Ingredients.—Some bread-crumbs, a little butter, onion, cayenne, and salt. Mode.—Bake the tomatoes whole, then scoop out a small hole at the top; fry the bread-crumbs, onion, &c., and fill the holes with this as high up as possible; then brown the tomatoes with a salamander, or in an oven, and take care that the skin does not break.
TOMATOES, Stewed.
Ingredients.—8 tomatoes, pepper and salt to taste, 2 oz. of butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Mode.—Slice the tomatoes into a lined saucepan; season them with pepper and salt, and place small pieces of butter on them. Cover the lid down closely, and stew from 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are perfectly tender; add the vinegar, stir two or three times, and serve with any kind of roast meat, with which they will be found a delicious accompaniment. Time.—20 to 25 minutes. Average cost, in full season, 9d. per basket. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Seasonable from August to October; but may be had, forced, much earlier.