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Zucchini with Tomatoes for Winter «Lick Your Fingers»
Instructions
Young zucchinis do not need to have their skins removed. Rinse the vegetables thoroughly under running water. Cut off the stems, and slice the fruits into rounds. Cut large rounds into quarters; small rounds can be cut in half.
Dilute the tomato paste in warm water according to the recipe. Add salt, sugar, and oil. Bring the tomato sauce to a boil, then pour in the sliced zucchini.
Boil the zucchini in the tomato sauce at a low boil for 15 minutes. The gentle simmer prevents the zucchini from breaking apart.
Slice the onion into half rings, cut the pepper into thin strips, and grate the carrot on a coarse grater.
Add the chopped carrot, onion, and pepper to the cooking pot with the zucchini and tomato. Boil the vegetables for 15 minutes.
Cut the tomatoes into slices.
Finely chop the garlic cloves with a knife. Add the tomato slices with the garlic to the cooking pot with the other salad ingredients. Cook the vegetables with the tomatoes and garlic for another 10-15 minutes. 2 minutes before the end of cooking, add 1 tbsp (not full) of vinegar. Taste the sauce. If you want more acidity, you can add more vinegar.
Place the hot zucchini salad with vegetables along with the sauce into the sterilized jar. Seal hermetically with a boiled lid. From this quantity of products, you will get a jar of 0.5-0.6 l. Turn the jar upside down, wrap in a blanket, and leave for 12 hours. Then transfer the preserves to a cool place. The preparation can be stored in an ordinary apartment, but it is better to find a cool spot.
Open the jar in winter — and you already have dinner ready! The convenience of single-jar pantry meals is what makes this preserve a household favorite.
The salad can simply be eaten with bread as an independent dish, making it perfect for lazy lunches and quick snacks.Prepare zucchini with tomatoes for winter "Finger-licking good" according to this recipe. Delicious and successful preparations.
Tips
- 1
Use young small zucchini for best texture. Mature zucchini have tough skins and large bitter seeds that compromise the finished preserve. Look for zucchini under 25 cm long and 5 cm in diameter for best results. The size and freshness matter more than home cooks typically realize for jarred preserves.
- 2
Sterilize jars properly even for "without sterilization" recipes. Wash with hot soapy water, rinse thoroughly, then either oven-sterilize at 120°C for 15 minutes or boil for 10 minutes. The lids need separate boiling. The same sterilization rigor applies to many home preserves including eggplant caviar for winter without sterilization and similar canned vegetable preparations.
- 3
Add garlic toward the end of cooking. Long-cooked garlic loses its bright pungent character; briefly-cooked garlic provides the aromatic punch that defines proper finished preserve. The same end-addition principle elevates many home-canned vegetable preparations.
- 4
Wait at least 1 month before opening for full flavor development. Fresh-made jars taste good but the tomato-vegetable infusion develops dramatically during storage. Pair the finished preserve with crusty homemade bread for the perfect winter snack, or use as a side dish alongside grilled meats and roasted vegetables.
FAQ
How long does this preserve keep? +
Properly sealed and stored in a cool dark place (under 18°C), the preserve keeps for 12 months. Check seals before opening — the lid should be slightly concave and not move when pressed. Any jar with popped lid, bulging cap, or off smell should be discarded immediately, never tasted. Refrigerate after opening and consume within 2 weeks.
Can I scale up this recipe? +
Yes — multiply all ingredients linearly for larger batches. The cooking times stay similar but may need slight extension for very large batches. Use larger pots to maintain proper depth and heat distribution. Larger batches actually work better than tiny ones since the gentle thermal mass helps prevent burning during the long simmer phases.
What other vegetables work in this preserve? +
Eggplant, summer squash, mushrooms, or green beans all integrate beautifully alongside the zucchini-tomato base. Each addition produces distinct character with unique flavor depth. Adjust cooking times based on vegetable density and ripeness. The basic technique — simmer vegetables in vinegar-tomato sauce, jar — adapts to many summer harvest combinations for varied pantry storage options across the year.
Why is my preserve too acidic? +
Too much vinegar relative to other ingredients. Use slightly less than 1 tbsp vinegar as the recipe suggests, and balance with extra sugar if needed. Some vinegar varieties are stronger than others — reduce slightly when using stronger varieties. The vinegar is essential for safe storage but can be balanced with sugar adjustments to suit personal taste preferences.
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