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Making & Canning Basque Sauce or Sauce Basquaise (Piperade), Quart Jars

This delightfully simple sauce from the Basque region of Spain and France may be used for a multitude of dishes. It is normally served as a side dish with roasted or grilled poultry or pork, grilled meat or fish. It's also good with a French omelet, a Spanish omelet (tortilla espagnola,) or plain fried eggs. Basque chicken may be made by browning the chicken in olive oil and then simmering it in Basque sauce for thirty minutes to one hour, depending on the tenderness you desire.

There are regional variations of Basque sauce. We suggest testing different variations, including the addition of onions and/or sugar and/or white wine, using the one pint recipe to find the one that best suits your taste. Our preferred variation of Basque Sauce is the simplest combination of tomatoes, peppers and garlic. We find Basque sauce is best when the tomatoes are not cooked for a long peiod of time with the peppers and garlic. This method layers the hardy flavor of fresh tomatoes with the subtle rich flavor of the peppers along with a hint of garlic.

In lieu of our preferred canned varation, you may sauté one clove of garlic in olive oil, add a 1 pint jar of blanched or roasted poblano peppers, salt, pepper and a 1 quart jar of canned crushed tomatoes. Simmer to reheat and serve as a side dish.

Also see Making and Canning Basque Sauce, Sauce Basquaise or Piperade in Pint Jars.

Yields will vary based on the water content of the tomatoes.

Optional ingredients:

1. We recommend red organic beefsteak tomatoes for this recipe. We do not blanch, peel or deseed organic beefsteak tomatoes.
2. You may use any sweet, mild green pepper. We do not recommend green bell peppers, unless they are roasted rather than being sautéed. See canning roasted green bell peppers.
3. Onions are used in many variations of Basque sauce. If canning with fresh, summer tomatoes, we don't recommend adding onions.
4. White wine is found in many American recipes.
5. Sugar may be added as desired to cut the acidity of certain tomatoes. Add a small amount and continue adding until reaching desired sweetness.

Prepare Basque Sauce:

1. Wash tomatoes, cut away stems and discolored portion of tomatoes.
2. If desired, or if not using organic tomatoes, blanch, peel and deseed the tomatoes.
3. Chop tomatoes, place in a pot and bring to a simmer. Add optional sugar.
4. Heat olive oil in separate pan, add minced garlic, minced peppers and optional minced onions, salt and pepper.
5. Sauté 10 - 15 minutes, stirring frequently until peppers are soft.
6. Add optional wine and simmer until wine has evaporated.
7. Remove peppers from heat and set aside. Note: for the best canning results, do not mix with tomatoes before canning.

For canning Basque sauce in in quart jars, use the following technique:

1. Add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice to each empty quart canning jar.
2. Add peppers in equal proportions to each canning jar.
3. Add tomatoes using Canning with hot pack method with 1/2" of headspace.
3. Process with a Pressure Canner for 60 minutes for quart jars, at 10 pounds for a weighted gauge and 11 pounds for a dial gauge.
4. For elevations above 1,000 foot level see Altitude Time Adjustments.
5. After processing, place the jars on a towel, separated by 1" to cool.
6. Labeling and Storing

Equipment Needed:

• Pressure Canner
• Lifting tool
• Canning funnel
• Large stove-top pot
• *Jars and lids
• Clean Cloth Towels
• Paper towels
• *See manufacturer's instructions

This recipe is not tested by the USDA, but follows USDA guidelines for canning and processing time.

	Video 3: Home Canning Tomatoes, Home Canning Tomato Sauce,Home Canning Whole Tomatoes, Home Canning Crushed Tomatoes, Home Canning Salsa This third video will teach you how to use a waterbath canner for home canning tomatoes in several ways; home canning whole tomatoes, home canning diced tomatoes, home canning tomato sauces and home canning salsa.
	Video 4: Home Canning Vegetables and Home Canning Soup Introduction to a pressure canner, sometimes referred to as a pressure cooker. At the end of this video you should understand how to can low acid foods how to home can vegetables and home canned soup.