5 Summer Veggies to Freeze

5 Summer Veggies to Freeze, these are the easiest and tastiest vegetables of the summer, so why not freeze them for the coming winter months?  Freeze them and then make these delicious recipes.

August in Italy is always the “lets conserve whatever we can for the winter months.”  My mother-in-law was a biggie on this.  From Tomato puree to zucchini under oil.  Almost anything is game.

Over the years I have done my own preserving and these are a few of my favourite vegetables that I like to preserve by freezing.

This way I get to remember the delicious veggies from the summer without all the absurd heat.  For this reason I would like to share with you my favourite….

5 Summer Veggies to Freeze

1.  Tomatoes / pureed

Wash tomatoes (how many tomatoes you wish)  and place in a large bowl, cover with boiling water and let sit for approximately 10 minutes (should be easy to remove the skin, be careful because it is very hot, I use a fork to hold the tomato and a knife to remove the skin).

Cut the tomato in half and squeeze out excess water and seeds.  Place in a plastic container or freezer bags and freeze for future use.  Perfect for Sauces.

2.  Tomatoes oven dried

Pre-heat oven to 400 (200 Celsius)
Slice tomatoes lengthwise and place on lightly greased (drizzle with a little olive oil) baking sheet. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 300 degrees (150 Celsius) and continue to bake for approximately 1- 1 1/2 hours.

Tomatoes should be dried, remove from oven and let cool. Place in plastic containers or freezer bags. Let thaw before using. Perfect for using as a topping or as an Appetizer.

3. Green beans

Be sure to pick fresh looking beans, no shrivelled or old beans.  Trim and wash beans.  Depending on the size (small beans – 2 minutes, medium beans 3 minutes and large beans 4 minutes) cook in a large pot in boiling water.

Drain and rinse in cold water, when beans have cooled freeze in plastic containers or freezer bags.  Great for adding to  stews or as a delicious Italian green bean toss (must finish the cooking process when removed from the freezer).

4. Grilled Eggplant

One of my favourite freezer veggies.  Rinse and trim the ends of the eggplant (how many you wish to use). You don’t have to peel the eggplant but discard the first and last slices (they will be the heels).

Slice eggplant lengthwise (thin but not too thin), grill until tender (careful not to burn) for approximately 1-2 minutes on either side (can be grilled on a barbecue or a pan grill), remove grilled eggplant to a clean plate and continue until all the eggplants are grilled.

Place in plastic containers or freezer bags when cooled completely.  Thaw before using.  Perfect for a simple Grilled Eggplant, a delicious Grilled Eggplant Parmesan or as a topping.

5. Peppers

These are so easy, just clean and slice peppers, place in plastic containers or freezer bags.  I use these to make one of the most delicious pasta dishes (my sister’s absolute favourite).

You don’t even have to thaw the peppers, just place in the pot and cook as directed for Pepper Cream Sauce.

I would love to know if you already freeze summer vegetables and what they may be.  Please enjoy my 5 Summer Veggies to Freeze.