How To Make Homemade Tomato Paste

What Is Tomato Paste?

Tomato paste, domates salçasi as we say in Turkish, is a concentrated tomato sauce. Tomatoes are pureed, cooked for a long time until it reduces by almost half. Tomato skin and seeds are removed in an easy process. And then this sauce is dried under the sun or baked in the oven until it reaches the desired thickness.

Thinking about the whole process above, we can say tomato paste goes beyond a regular tomato sauce indeed. For one thing, it is super thick. Sometimes you even need to thin it with a little water, depending on the dish you are making with it. Also, it has a much deeper taste than a tomato sauce. 

Ingredients

We need two basic ingredients when making tomato paste from scratch. 

Tomatoes: Roma or plum tomatoes are the best because they are meaty and have fewer seeds. You end up with a good amount of paste. On the other hand, if you want to use fancy looking heirloom tomatoes, you end up with less tomato paste because they are not as meaty. And they require a longer cooking time so that their juice evaporates. Also, the color would not be as red when you use heirloom tomatoes. That being said, the taste would be equally tasty. So you can make tomato paste with any type of tomatoes but be aware of the facts above.

Salt: When making tomato paste, we use salt mainly as a preservative, rather than taste. So the type of salt really matters. Kosher salt and sea salt are the best options but make sure they are pure and don’t contain any additives. Just like when brining green olives, NEVER use table salt in your homemade tomato paste. Because it contains additives, table salt won’t act as a preservative.

How To Make

This is an easy tomato paste recipe with four steps:

First, prepare the tomatoes. The only thing you need to do is to cut them into halves or quarters, removing the stems for sure. Put them in a food processor and puree them in batches. Then pour the puree into a large pot and sprinkle kosher salt over it.

Second, cook it over the stove. Heat it over medium high heat uncovered until the tomatoes release juice and start to boil. Keep boiling for about 30 minutes. This will help the excessive water evaporate. Meanwhile you will see foams on the top, remove them using a spoon. Then, reduce the heat to medium low and let the puree simmer until it has a consistency, for about 40 minutes. Let it cool.

Third, remove the skin and seeds using a strainer. To do this, put a strainer over a large bowl. Pour the tomato sauce into the strainer. Press down the sauce using a spoon until only the seeds and the skin remains in the strainer. Pour the sauce back into the pot.

Next, put the pot back over medium heat and let it simmer until it gets thick, for 40-50 minutes.

Finally, dry the sauce under the sun: For this, pour the sauce in one or two baking sheets in a thin layer. Wait it under the sun for 3-4 days depending on the temperature outside, until it gets really thick. After this duration, you can put the tomato paste into jars.

Pro Tip: Take the tomato sauce inside at nights to prevent any moisture.

Alternative Methods To Sun-Drying

No enough sun in your area or no place in your house for sun-drying? Don’t worry! After straining the cooked tomato sauce/puree, there are two alternative methods you can use:

Method 1: Continue cooking the sauce over the stove: After straining the sauce, pour it back in the pot and keep cooking over low heat until it reduces by more than half and gets thick. This might take several hours. Keep stirring it once in a while.

Method 2: Bake it in the oven: After straining the sauce, pour it back in the pot and let it simmer over low heat until thick, for 40-50 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200F/90C and turn on the fan. Pour the sauce in a large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven, give it a good stir, spread it evenly and put it back in the oven. Bake for 3 hours repeating the same steps after every 30 minutes. You will end up with a thick paste.

After the drying methods above, let your tomato paste cool completely and then share into jars.

How To Store

Transfer your homemade tomato paste into clean jars using a spoon, pressing it down well each time you put a spoon. There should be no air pockets left. Flatten the surface and pour olive oil on it. The oil should cover it completely. This will prevent the paste from getting exposed to air. Tighten the lid of jar. Store it either in the refrigerator or in your pantry, away from sunlight.

Pro Tip: Always use a clean spoon to scoop out some paste. The spoon shouldn’t be wet. Otherwise, this will cause mold on the surface of the paste.

How To Use

In Soups and Stews: Tomato paste is a perfect addition to winter soups and stews like tomato soup with fresh tomatoes, fresh oyster mushroom soup, tomato chicken soup and Turkish white bean stew. You feel the flavor of summer when enjoying your soup in a freezing weather. It warms you both emotionally and physically this way. You know tomatoes in winter are so pale and tasteless, they are no way appealing and this tomato paste becomes like a treasure in the middle of winter when you are complaining about those boring tomatoes at the market.

As A Breakfast or Snack Food: It might sound weird to you, but we love it as a Turkish breakfast food or party food too! Just spread a little of it on a piece of bread, drizzle a little olive oil on it and top with herbs. Enjoy that quickest crostini ever! You can even place a small piece of cheese on it if you like. It is also a great way to suppress your hunger if you have to wait long for meal.

In Sauces: Use it to make flavorful sauces for dishes like stuffed grape leaves dolma, chicken and potatoes with tomato sauce and imam bayildi recipe. It’s like an enchanting substance in a jar and once you open it, you want to add it into any dish you like.

How To Turn It To A Tomato Sauce

Making tomato sauce is super easy with tomato paste and it is way tastier than store-bought sauces.

First, whisk together ¼ cup tomato paste, olive oil and 1 cup water in a suace pan. Heat it over medium high heat and bring it to boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium low and season the sauce with spices (black pepper, dried thyme or mint), herbs (basil or parsley) and mashed garlic. You can decide on which spices and herbs to use according to your taste. Use this flavor packed sauce in any dish you like. For example, cook Turkish meatballs kofte in this tomato sauce and turn them into a whole new meal.

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