Tomato fondue is one of the most important basic recipes in any recipe book and is infinitely versatile because it could be served as a vegetable dish, a sauce for pasta, a filling for omelettes, a topping for pizza, an interesting and different fondue or a base for any hearty bean stew. It can be made in advance and it freezes beautifully, so if you have a glut of tomatoes, make a few batches, cool them down and ziploc them for the freezer. There’s no need to limit yourself to one batch only if you have a really big pot, double up and freeze them because tomatoes may be cheap in summer but they’re pricey in winter.

Ingredients

• 26 good sized tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and finely diced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large lemon, grated zest only
• 1 handful fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 black cardamom
• 4 cloves
• 1 heaped tsp coriander seeds, toasted and crushed finely
• 12 saffron threads
• ½ tsp chilli sauce
• 55 ml sherry vinegar
• 225ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

• Drain the tomatoes and reserve the tomato juice.
• Sweat the onions, the spices (but not the saffron) and the garlic in the olive oil over very low heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the drained tomato juice and the chilli sauce and bring to the boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add the sherry vinegar and the lemon zest and allow the sauce to simmer for about 2 – 3 hours on very low heat – keep an eye on the sauce so that the heat is always low and the simmer always gentle.
• Half an hour before the end, pour a little boiling water over the saffron and allow it to seep for 10 minutes and add to the tomatoes.
• When the fondue is ready, it will have a deep red colour and be like a thick coulis.