Today I'm preparing a large portion of ragout for preserving. It's great to have some jars handy for days you don't have time for cooking or you don't feel like peeling and chopping and boiling and frying. Huge marrows and courgettes are perfect for this. Aubergines and pumpkins are great, too.
I use:
- 1 large marrow
- a few tomatoes (I picked them green some days ago and they ripened in a bowl at home)
- a handful of garlic cloves (needless to say that I love garlic...)
- some red and white onions
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (I wish I had more tomatoes from the allotment - next year!)
- chopped parsley and thyme (frozen - see earlier post)
- dried herbs de provence
- salt and pepper
I prepare everything in a pressure cooker. For this I add oil and fry the garlic and onions until glassy. 
In the meantime sterilise some jars, I keep those from the shops, saves you buying new ones as well as resources. Fill them level while jars and ragout are still hot and close quickly. Take care to clean rims before closing.
Another tip: If you want to make sure you create a vacuum in the jars you can add a thin layer of alcohol (40% upwards) on top of your preserves (this method only works with preserves of a firm consistency; great for jams, too). The amount of alcohol depends on how full you filled the glass. Light it with a match or lighter and quickly close the lid. The flame will use up the rest of the oxygen in the glass and then extinguish, thus creating the vaccuum. There needs to be enough alcohol to use up all the oxygen but at the same time there shouldn't be much more or the alcohol will remain in the jar. You will see, it's not too difficult to estimate the right amount.
Voila!
No comments:
Post a Comment