Kunserva

Ingredients

Tomatoes

• 4 kgvery ripe plum tomatoes
• 3 tbspcoarse salt

To finish

• olive oil
• 2 tspsugar, optional

To serve

• Maltese ħobż bread
• olive oil
• capers
• olives

Directions

1. Use tomatoes at the absolute peak of ripeness, ideally the small dense Maltese ones grown for this purpose. Watery tomatoes give a pale, thin paste.
2. Halve the tomatoes, remove the cores, and cook them down in a wide pan with the salt for about 40 minutes.
3. Sieve rather than blend. Return the purée to the pan and cook it down further, stirring, until it thickens noticeably.
4. Spread the thick purée in a thin layer over large flat plates or wooden boards. Set them in full direct sun, covered with muslin against insects, for two to three days.
5. Bring them in overnight and every time it looks like rain. Scrape the paste together and turn it over twice a day, then spread it thin again.
6. Taste and add a little sugar only if the tomatoes were not sweet enough.
7. Pack it into sterilised jars, pressing out all air pockets, and cover the surface with a layer of olive oil. The oil seal is what keeps it, and any exposed paste will grow mould within days.

Technique

• It is sold in tubes and tins in Malta and the homemade version is a summer ritual in villages.
• The salt and the sun do the preserving between them.
• If you have no reliable sun, a very low oven with the door ajar for several hours is the practical substitute.

Substitutions

• A dehydrator or a 60°C oven, which is far quicker and slightly less complex in flavour.
• Good Italian double concentrate with a spoonful of honey, as an approximation.

Variations

• With garlic and herbs worked in.
• Left slightly looser, as a spreadable sauce.
• Ħobż biż-żejt, the bread it is most often eaten on.

History

Made by drying tomato pulp on rooftops in the Maltese summer, once the household’s year of tomato flavour.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kunserva?

Kunserva is a sauce & condiment from Malta: dark sun-dried tomato paste, sweet and salty, spread on bread with oil. Made by drying tomato pulp on rooftops in the Maltese summer, once the household’s year of tomato flavour.

How long does Kunserva take to make?

Kunserva takes 30 min plus 3 days drying of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes about 500 g. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kunserva?

Yes, within limits. A dehydrator or a 60°C oven, which is far quicker and slightly less complex in flavour. Good Italian double concentrate with a spoonful of honey, as an approximation.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kunserva?

Sieve rather than blend. Return the purée to the pan and cook it down further, stirring, until it thickens noticeably.