My first raised bed vegetable garden in Asheville has been absolutely rewarding.  What a gem “Tomato pomodoro red pear select” from Franchi Special selection has been. Just about every two weeks it has produced a dozen 1 lb. plus tomatoes that are so meaty and fantastic for a sauce. I decided for the first time to embrace saving seeds and this will be my first one as I want to have this delicious tomato in my garden every year. I will do a post on seed saving in a bit as I am in the learning stages. I do welcome advice from those who are experienced seed savers as it is so much fun and rewarding. This recipe takes time, however, very little hands-on. So, give it a try as the results will be so rewarding throughout the cold winter months as you can create a simple amazing tomato soup or sauce with it.

INGREDIENTS
10 lbs red ripe paste tomatoes or roma
bottled lemon juice/extract
12 basil leaves
salt

Yield: 5 pint size jars
Time: 3 hours plus 12 hours cooling (just 1 hour active time)

Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Core and halve tomatoes, scoop out seeds and gel.
Pile tomatoes into a large roasting pan, cut side up. Crowd them in leaving very little space.
Roast tomatoes for 2 hours.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Thoroughly purée tomatoes til smooth and velvety with no pieces.
Pour purée in a nonreactive pot, add basil leaves, 1 tblspn salt and simmer. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to boil and add the pint jars, lids and canning rings.
Remove the jars and leave lids and rings.
Bring purée to a boil.
Add one tablespoon lemon juice to each jar and ladle hot tomato purée into warm jars leaving 1/2 inch of head space (some jars will have a indication of fill space)
Wipe jar rims clean with a damp cloth and place lids on jars, screw on lids tightly. Lower jars upright into boiling water in a *canning pot.
Return to a full boil and process for 35 minutes.
Transfer jars to a cooling rack and let cool for 12 hours.
Once cooled test seals by pressing the center of the lid to make sure it does not move or ping.
Label and store for up to 6 months in a cool dark place.

Bon appétit (PS: if you would like some seeds, LMK)