This tomato sauce recipe has been in the family for generations, revived by my loving mother, Wol. Bessy Beavis Thorn was my great granmother, who emigrated to WA with her husband Percy in 1929 from Angaston in SA. She and Percy lived in the very stone house in which I now preside. She and he were a great team, clearing and establishing the farm and family business, which continues to be worked and cared for by myself and my 2 brothers. They were also deeply passionate about preserving and canning all manner of foodstuffs.

This tomato sauce is very much a staple in all Thorn households for enhancing plain pasta and cheese, on grilled lamb chops, with snaggers in bread, on macaroni and cheese, drowning veggie slice… you get the drift. But be warned, it has a distinct clove flavour, and in its rustic nature doesn’t require the removal of seeds or skins – so if these things are not for you, don’t mistake me for someone who cares.

Now a quick heads up, this sauce, like all things worth doing, takes a while to simmer and bubble to develop the delicious and rich colour and flavour for which it is renowned – so its best started around morning smoko.

For about 2.5L of finished product, you’ll require:

3kg of deliciously ripe tomatoes

500g onions

1 tsp of ground ginger, or equivalent of fresh

2 cloves of garlic

14g of cloves (yes, this sauce is very clov-ie)

1/2 tsp of cayenne

 1 tsp of smoked paprika (*my twist on the original)

2 tsp salt

2 cups of sugar

2 & 1/2 cups of vinegar (apple cider or white)

Now…

Roughly dice up all ingredients that require dicing, and add to a 7L or greater stockpot. Add in the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the sugar and vinegar. Simmer for around 2 hours until it becomes fairly mushy and has reduced a bit. Now its time to make a mess! Take the pot off the heat and blend with a bar-mix or in batches in a blender. Then return to the heat and add in the sugar and vinegar. *At this point you should be putting your washed old gin and whiskey bottles in the warming oven on 100C. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the sauce to a hard boil for about 30-60 minutes – or until it looks nice and dark and thick. Proceed to bottle whilst piping hot!

As with all sauces and relishes, if you are patient, the flavour with develop with a bit of maturation time in the cupboard. A week to a month is suffice. Enjoy!