Šugo

In our family, this is what we call homemade tomato paste. The name is familar to me, because the etymological ear clearly places the sauce in the world of Romance languages, which is correct - tomato is indeed an icon of Italian cuisine. In old Latin succus means juice, while in the philosophical discourse it explicity represents the essence. Prolonged braising of tomatoes and accompanying vegetables achieves exactly this: the neutral water mainly evaporates, leaving behind a thick sauce with a concentrated flavour which captures the essence of tomatoes.

 

To keep things simple: the dry and hot summer was favorable for tomatoes this year. The food stalls were groaning under the weight of fat oxheart tomatoes and every possible hybrid, leaving everyone, customers and tomato growers alike, satisfied.

 

 

I'm using the past tense, oopsie. Let me fix it: the juicy and ripe tomatoes will keep us company until the end of September, perhaps even a week longer. So we have enough time to catch the setting sun and save it for the dark winter days ahead. Ask the stall vendor for a crate or two of ripe tomatoes at half-price; even if they are bruised and split, we have nothing to worry about - the fruit is practically bursting with the essence.

 

 

So, what do we need for a homemade šugo manufacturing plant? A big pot without a lid. Another big pot with a lid. A skimmer. A manual food mill, highly recommended to help purée the tomatoes. Additionally, ten to twelve 720 ml mason jars with screw-on lids - and an oven to sterilise the jars and šugo.

 

As far as software is concerned, we stick to the following quantities and the subsequent algorithm.

 

We need:

• 12 kg ripe, meaty tomatoes,
• (varieties like San Marzano, oxheart...),
• 1 kg mixed bell peppers,
• 1 kg onion,
• a handful celery greens,
• a handful parsley greens,
• 4 whole garlic bulbs,
• 1 dl olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar,
• 2 tablespoons salt and
• 1 tablespoon oregano.

 

Cleaning the tomatoes

Place the tomatoes in the kitchen sink and rinse them with water. Heat up a large amount of water in a large pot, and when it boils, immerse the tomatoes for 30 seconds. Immerse them gradually, then move them to another sink or a large bowl. The boiling water will make their skin split, which makes it easier to purée them.

 

Cleaning and braising the vegetables

Peel and roughly chop the onions. Cut the bell peppers in half, remove the stems and the seeds, and cut them into strips. Peel and chop the garlic. Rinse the celery and parsley greens with water, cut off the stems and finely chop the leaves.

 

Heat 1 dcl of olive oil in the pot you will use to cook šugo. Add all the chopped vegetables, cover the pot with a lid and braise over low heat for 30 minutes, while frequently stirring so that nothing sticks to the bottom.

 

 

 

Puréeing the tomatoes

While braising the vegetables, tackle the blanched tomatoes. Put them in manual food mill, which is placed over a fitting pot. Gradually purée the tomatoes and clean the sieve every so often to remove the skin and hard bits. The extracted juice is transferred into another large container, which is then placed on the heat to allow the sauce to thicken up.

 

Combining the ingredients

Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the braised vegetables in the pot. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes to caramelise the sugar. Add the hot tomato juice from the other pot. Season with salt, add the oregano and braise uncovered for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the thickness you wish to achieve.

 

Canning in mason jars

Wash the jars under running water, then rinse and clean the lids as well. Wipe the jars dry and place them in the oven with the mouth facing down, and add the lids. Heat the oven to 110°C and heat the jars for 30 minutes at this temperature.

 

Put the sterilised jars on a kitchen towel or a folded cloth on a work surface and carefully pour the hot šugo into the jars. Use a funnel or a small scoop. Pour all the way to the top, so that there is as little air as possible in the jar.

 

Cover the jars with the lids and make sure they fit the thread. Move them into the preheated oven, placing the rack in a lower position, and pasteurise them for 30 minutes at the pre-set temperature of 110°C. After 30 minutes, turn off the oven and leave the jars in to cool overnight. The next day, take them out of the oven and move them to the pantry for the upcoming winter.