Wash and trim the tomatoes, then run them through a food mill, discarding skins and seeds. Place 1 cup of tomatoes, all onions, 1/2 of the chiles, the garlic, and the seasonings into a food processor and puree completely (might take a minute or two). Pour into a large pot with the rest of the tomatoes and remaining chiles and boil until the consistency of store-bought tomato sauce (about 70-75 minutes). Place into hot, sterilized pint jars, top each one with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and process in a hot water bath for 35 minutes (45 minutes for quarts). Makes 3 to 6 pints, depending on the liquid content of your fruits.

A couple of notes:

1. I use whatever fresh chiles I have when making this -- for example, last night I used a mix of habanero, cayenne, Thai, and jalapeno. If you use one type of chile, the flavor will be less complex and rounded (i.e., the tomatoes will have a little less rhythm) but you can spotlight a singular chile flavor for a specific use.

2. S & P mix -- this is a force of habit for me from my restaurant days. I keep a bowl of about 2/3 kosher salt and 1/3 cracked black and white pepper on my counter at all times. It goes into everything.

3. Red seasoning -- another habit from my restaurant days in a Cajun kitchen. It's a mix of about 8 spices or so, often called blackening seasoning, Cajun spice, Creole seasoning, or, more recently, essence. You can use store-bought or, if you like, I'll send my recipe for homemade. -recipe is in PF holding - Seasonings

Hope you all like the tomatoes.

From: T. Matthew Evans
Posted By: T. Matthew Evans , Via: Chile Head Mailing List
Post Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001