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True Italian cooks will not buy jarred tomato purée. Traditionally, many people enjoy the late summer ritual of jarring their own sauce when tomatoes are at their peak. If you’d like to start your own ritual, this is how it’s done.

1 Sterilize the jars you need for the amount of purée you have.

2 Place two or three basil leaves in each freshly sterilized jar, and pour in the purée using a funnel. Fill almost to the edge, and close with a screw-on cap.

3 Select a pot large enough to accommodate the jars, fill it with water, and bring it to a boil over high heat.

4 Wrap each jar with a dishcloth, place it in the large pot, and ensure that the jars are covered in water up to the three-quarter mark.

5 Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, and then let the jars cool in the water.

6 Once cold, remove the jars from the pot, dry them, and make sure the lid has been vacuum-sealed by pressing on the cap. If the lid is slightly concave, dipping in toward the center, the seal is good. If you hear a clacking sound, however, it means that the vacuum seal has failed. In this case, you’ll have to start again from the beginning or freeze the purée.

7 When the seal is tight, with no “click-clack,” your purée is ready. Place it in the pantry and look forward to savoring the intense and lingering taste of these tomatoes even in December, taking you back to the warm light of summer days.

Pepperoni rossi arrostiti/Roasted Red Peppers

PREP TIME: 5 MIN | COOK TIME: 40 MIN | YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

4 red bell peppers (keep whole)

1 tablespoon Amy Riolo Selections or other good-quality extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1 Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

2 On a baking sheet, place the whole bell peppers. Bake until the skins are wrinkled and the peppers are charred, about 30-40 minutes, being sure to turn them each time a side is charred (approximately twice during cooking).

3 Remove from the oven, and cover tightly with aluminum foil to create steam. Set aside.

4 When peppers are cool enough to handle, after about 30 minutes, cut into quarters, peel off the skin, and remove the seeds. Add to your favorite recipe or, if not eating immediately, place the pepper pieces in a jar, cover with olive oil for additional flavor and nutrition, and seal with a lid; refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Before using, drain the oil from the peppers; reserve the oil in the refrigerator for another use.

Passata di pomodoro/Tomato Purée

PREP TIME: 5 MIN | COOK TIME: 30 MIN | YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds ripe San Marzano or other plum tomatoes

Handful of fresh basil leaves, washed and dried

DIRECTIONS

1 Wash and dry tomatoes, remove the stems, and cut them in half.

2 Fill a large stockpot three-fourths of the way with water, and place over high heat.

3 Bring to a boil, and carefully lower in tomatoes with a large spoon.

4 Boil, uncovered, until the skins start to break.

5 Drain and allow to cool enough to handle.

6 Put the tomatoes through a food mill in order to remove the skins.

7 If the tomato juice is very thin, return it to the stockpot and boil for 15-30 minutes until it has thickened slightly. Use immediately to make tomato sauce, or jar or freeze the purée for later use.

TIP: The water content in the tomatoes that you use makes a big difference in the thickness of your purée. While you could technically use any type of tomatoes that you prefer, I highly recommend firm, ripe, plum-style tomatoes that yield a better consistency for this purpose.

This recipe calls for a very small number of tomatoes, enough to be used in one recipe. You can use much larger quantities to make extra purée for jarring to use until the next year’s tomato season. You can also freeze batches to use later.

NOTE: In Italy, people usually make purée once a year at the end of tomato season and preserve the tomatoes to use in all of their recipes throughout the year, so that they do not have to purchase purée from the store. Many families get together and make an annual event out of the tomato preserving process.