How to prepare cauliflower in tomato juice for the winter: recipes

Cauliflower is fried in batter or steamed to preserve maximum benefits. Some housewives prefer to freeze the inflorescences after harvesting in order to add them to various dishes in the winter. If there is no spacious freezer, prepare snacks in jars.

Let's look at the most delicious and simple recipes for preparing cauliflower in tomato juice for the winter. Our article contains step-by-step instructions, photos, tips and recommendations from experienced housewives.

Selecting and preparing cauliflower

To make the preparation tasty, healthy and beautiful, it is important to choose the right vegetable itself.

Suitable for canning:

1. Selected cabbage with light inflorescences without signs of rot, disease or mechanical damage.
2. Vegetable with dense white or cream heads. If the color is yellowish, it means that the cabbage is overripe and is not suitable for canning.

Before heat treatment, the vegetable is thoroughly washed and cut into inflorescences.

How to preserve cauliflower in tomato sauce

Cauliflower in tomato turns out tasty and aromatic, and the combination of light inflorescences and red sauce makes the preparation very aesthetic and attractive.

According to the classic recipe, the ingredients are selected for 2 kg of cabbage:

• 2.5 kg of tomatoes;
• 2 sweet peppers;
• 6 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
• 0.5 heads of garlic;
• 60 g salt;
• 100 g sugar;
• 150 ml sunflower oil;
• 1/2 tsp. citric acid;
• bay leaf and peppercorns - to taste.

Cooking instructions:

1. The washed cabbage is cut into inflorescences. The washed pepper is peeled from the stalk and cut into strips.
2. The tomatoes are washed, a cross-shaped cut is made on the stalk, scalded with boiling water and immediately thrown into ice water. This will help remove the skin quickly.
3. Place cabbage inflorescences in sterilized half-liter jars, add several strips of pepper and 1 bay leaf for each container.
4. The jars are filled with boiling water, covered and left for 15 minutes.
5. Prepare tomato dressing: peeled tomatoes are crushed into puree. Peppercorns and chopped garlic are added to them.
6. The sauce is brought to a boil with salt, sugar, butter and citric acid and simmered for 20 minutes over low heat.
7. The water is drained from the jars and immediately filled with hot sauce. Without waiting for cooling, the containers are rolled up.

Recipe Variations

Cauliflower has a neutral taste, so winter preparations from it often complemented with other vegetables.

With vegetables and spices

Fans of unusual canned snacks will appreciate this simple recipe with onions and cucumbers.

For 2 1.5 liter cans you will need:

• 1 kg of inflorescences;
• 20 fresh cucumbers;
• 3 medium onions;
• 1.5 kg of tomatoes;
• 2 bell peppers;
• 4 cloves of garlic;
• 1/4 pod of hot pepper.

Spices are prepared separately:

• 2 bay leaves;
• 60 g each of sugar and salt;
• 2 tbsp. l. 9% vinegar;
• 2 pcs. carnations;
• 10 peppercorns.

Preparation:

1. Tomatoes without skin are crushed in a blender, hot peppers are divided into small pieces, sweet peppers are cut into strips, cucumbers are cut into rings, and onions are cut into quarters.
2. Garlic is peeled.
3. Bay leaves, garlic and onions are placed in sterilized jars. On top are cucumbers, bell peppers and cabbage. Vegetable layers are alternated to the top of the container. Pour boiling water over everything and leave it covered.
4. After 20 minutes, drain the water and repeat the procedure.
5. While the vegetables are steaming, prepare the tomato sauce. Pour tomato juice into a saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Add salt, sugar, hot pepper and spices.
6. Let the mixture boil for 10 minutes, add vinegar and cook for another 2 minutes. The water is drained from the jars and replaced with boiling sauce.

The containers are immediately rolled up with metal lids, turned upside down, wrapped and left to cool.

With garlic

The combination of cauliflower and garlic will give the appetizer spicy-hot aroma.

For 3 jars of 0.5 liters and 1 kg of cabbage you will need:

• 1 sweet pepper;
• 0.7 kg of tomatoes;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 3 tbsp. l. sunflower oil;
• 40 g sugar;
• 1 tbsp. l. with a heap of salt;
• 50 ml 9% vinegar.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. Cabbage disassembled into inflorescences is blanched so that the preparation does not become cloudy during storage. Pour 3 liters of water into the pan, bring it to a boil, lay out the inflorescences and cover with a lid. Keep them in boiling water for 5-6 minutes. Next, drain in a colander and cool.
2. Separately prepare the tomato sauce. Peel the tomatoes and remove the stem. Pepper is freed from seeds. Vegetables are cut into arbitrary pieces and crushed into puree. Garlic is crushed in the press.
3. The mixture with garlic is boiled for 5 minutes after boiling along with butter, salt and sugar.
4. Place the cabbage into the boiling sauce and, stirring constantly, cook for another 10 minutes.
5. At the end, add vinegar, boil for another 3 minutes and place in sterilized jars. The remaining space is filled with sauce.

The blanks are rolled up with metal lids, turned upside down, wrapped and left to cool.

With zucchini

This appetizer consists not only of cabbage and zucchini, but also of tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers and onions.Therefore, it is used as an independent dish and a dressing for vegetable stews.

Ingredients for a liter jar:

• 300 g cabbage;
• 150 g zucchini;
• 2 onions and sweet pepper;
• 1 carrot;
• 5 tomatoes;
• 3 cloves of garlic.

Spices and other marinade components are prepared separately:

• 1 tsp. salt;
• 3 pinches of sugar;
• 4 tbsp. l. sunflower oil;
• 2 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar;
• ground pepper - to taste.

How to cook:

1. Washed vegetables are cut: cabbage into separate inflorescences, onions into half rings, and carrots, zucchini and peppers into strips.
2. Simmer vegetables with salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan until softened, no more than 15 minutes.
3. Tomatoes are crushed with garlic, seasoned with spices and added to vegetables. Cook everything for 10 minutes. Vinegar is added at the end.
4. The finished snack is filled into sterilized jars and sterilized under the lids for 10 minutes.

The containers are rolled up and cooled in the usual way.

With bell pepper

In all recipes Above, bell pepper is used as a component of the tomato filling. Usually they take 1-2 pieces, but if desired, increase the quantity.

For example, some are used for filling, and some are simply cut into pieces and added to the cabbage. Then the finished dish will taste like vegetable lecho.

With parsley

Cauliflower combined with tomato sauce and parsley turns out very aromatic.

For 1 kg of inflorescences take:

• 700 g ripe tomatoes;
• 1 sweet pepper;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• a bunch of parsley;
• 50 ml each of vegetable oil and 9% vinegar;
• 40 g sugar;
• 25 g salt.

Preparation:

1. Blanch the inflorescences for 6 minutes and cool in a colander.
2. Tomatoes without skin and peppers without seeds are crushed into puree. Parsley is chopped, garlic is pressed in a press.
3. Add salt, sugar and butter to the vegetables and boil for 5 minutes.Place cabbage in the same mixture and cook for 10 minutes. Then add vinegar and boil for another 3 minutes.

Place the snack in sterilized jars, seal it hermetically, turn it upside down and wrap it. Leave until completely cool.

With citric acid

Citric acid, like vinegar, acts as a preservative. It is used both independently and in combination with vinegar.

For 2 kg of inflorescences you will need:

• 2 sweet peppers and 1 hot pepper;
• 1.5 kg of tomatoes;
• 1 head of garlic.

Additional sauce ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. l. salt and sugar;
• 150 ml vegetable oil;
• 3 g citric acid;
• 6 bay leaves;
• 10 peas each of black and allspice.

Step-by-step preparation:

1. The cabbage is immersed in boiling water with citric acid for 3 minutes, removed and cooled.
2. Peppers without stems are cut: bell peppers - into strips, hot peppers - into rings.
3. The tomatoes are crushed into puree, the peeled garlic is cut into slices.
4. All ingredients are mixed and cooked with spices and oil for 30 minutes.
5. Place in sterilized jars and seal.

Without sterilization

Cauliflower is also prepared with minimal heat treatment. Such snacks are consumed first.

Ingredients for 1 kg of cabbage:

• 700 g tomatoes;
• 1 sweet pepper;
• 4 cloves of garlic;
• 2 tbsp. l. salt and sugar;
• 50 ml each of vegetable oil and table vinegar.

The appetizer is prepared as standard:

1. The inflorescences are blanched and cooled. The seeded pepper is cut into cubes. Remove the skin from the tomatoes.
2. Peppers and tomatoes are pureed, chopped garlic, salt, sugar and butter are added, and cooked for 5 minutes.
3. Place the inflorescences into the boiling sauce and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Add vinegar 2-3 minutes before the end.
4. The vegetables are placed in jars, covered with lids and cooled.

Terms and conditions of storage

Properly rolled cabbage stored all winter. To do this, the workpieces are cooled in a special way.

Hermetically sealed jars are turned upside down and covered with a blanket. Leave until completely cool.

Next, the containers are transferred to the pantry. It should be dry and protected from direct sunlight.

Storage temperature is no higher than +15°C, and humidity is within 65–90%.

Adviсe

In addition to using high-quality products and jars without chips or damage, experienced housewives have a few more canning secrets.

Important! Jars and lids must be sterilized so that the product does not swell during storage.

Vinegar is added to the filling only at the end so that it does not have time to evaporate. The sauce is boiled in a stainless steel pan or enamel container. It is not recommended to use aluminum cookware, as it will give the snack an unpleasant aftertaste.

Conclusion

A properly prepared vegetable appetizer of cauliflower in tomato will diversify your winter diet. They use not only the classic recipe, but also various variations with herbs, zucchini, garlic and other vegetables.

The main thing is to strictly follow step-by-step recipes and use only high-quality ingredients. A mandatory component is vinegar or citric acid. They act as a preservative and prevent the product from deteriorating during storage.