tomato overload

I work for a farm who takes pride in the produce that they sell to their customers, both retail and wholesale. This means there is often a lot of produce that cannot be sold because of minor imperfections. This also means I end up taking a lot of produce home because I can't bare to see it thrown out. In yesterday's case, when I got home with 25 pounds of tomatoes, I had to figure out one way or another to use them. Sometimes I wish I didn't create so much work for myself on top of already working! But I must say I do enjoy it, especially when you add some Etta James in the mix. After contemplating some ideas, here's what we decided seemed to be the simplest and quickest way to use the 25 pound box of heirloom tomatoes for the short amount of time we had last night.

Fire Roasted Tomatoes

This recipe is really simple.
All you'll need is:
-Tomatoes (you can use any kind, other than cherry tomatoes which probably won't work well)
-Jars and lids for canning
-A large pot for a hot water bath to seal the jars
-Lemon juice to help preserve

Start with gawgeous tomatoes like these

If tomatoes are large, cut in thirds or fourths (halves if they're smaller)

Arrange tomatoes on a sheet pan

Broil on high for 10-15 minutes or until they look charred 

Once tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel skins off 

Once all of your tomatoes are roasted and peeled, strain any excess juice

Add 2 tbsp of lemon juice to each quart jar (or 1 tbsp for pint jars)

Using a funnel, pour tomatoes into jars leaving a half inch to an inch of space on top

Once the hot water bath is ready*, use a canning rack or canning jar tongs to lower jars into pot

Leave jars in boiling hot water bath for 40-45 minutes

After the jars are finished, use canning jar tongs to remove them and allow them to cool

That's it. The process can be time consuming, but if you plan it right it shouldn't take long. It's mostly just waiting for the tomatoes to roast because you can only put one pan in at a time. We used 25 pounds of large heirloom tomatoes which gave us 4 quart jars of tomatoes. The acidity in the tomatoes as well as the added lemon juice helps to preserve the tomatoes. Now we'll have jarred tomatoes to use for soups or sauce in the winter when the only tomatoes available are tasteless ones from the grocery store, ek. 

*The hot water bath takes quite awhile to bring to a boil, so start this early on to ensure that it is ready.