September is the month for preserving or pickling foods for Winter. We start getting prepared for winter with this tomato paste. You can find the best tomatoes of the year in this month, so you must preserve this delicacy for future cookings, right? One of the best ways to preserve it is to make tomato paste. We either use tomato paste or pepper paste in most of our dishes and we prepare these at the beginning of Fall.
Tomato paste is a perfect addition to winter soups like Orzo Soup. 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.
Tomato paste is not only used in soups, it also makes flavorful sauces on meatballs or chicken dishes. It’s like an enchanting substance in a jar in Winter and once you open it, you want to add it into any dish you like.
It might sound weird to you, but we love it at breakfast too! Just spread a little of it on a piece of bread, drizzle a little olive oil on it and 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.
An important tip when keeping tomato paste in jars: Drizzle a little olive oil on top of jars, it will cover the surface completely and protect from air. You don’t need to keep them in refrigerator, you can keep your tomato paste for up to one year or more this way.
Homemade Tomato Paste
Make tomato paste and enjoy the summer flavored tomatoes in winter!
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 5 kilo tomatoes
- 3 tbsp sea salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Chop tomatoes roughly and put in a deep pot.
- Bring it to boil and cook until it gets thicker and absorbs the water it releases.
- Let it cold and strain it into a large bowl to separate it from peel and dirt.
- Pour it into a shallow tray or baking dish and wait under sun for 2-3 days so that it gets even thicker.
- When there is no enough sun, transfer the strained tomato sauce into the pot and boil until it gets thick.
- Share it into jars and drizzle olive oil on the top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 kilo
I cook it as long as I can and then spread it on a lightly oiled sheet tray and bake it in the oven at 170 degrees. This will gently evaporate the moisture. Very similar making fruit leather.
Hi Kate, sounds like a good alternative to drying under sun. Thanks for sharing it here.
Hello, The water from the tomato s you can use for your bone broth!
Hi Diane, we don’t waste the tomato juice indeed. We dry it under sun so that it turns into thick tomato paste.
Oooo. Bu tarif çok iyi oldu. Öyle kolay anlatmışsın ki 🙂 Burada (Tanzanya) domates bolluğu var.Gerçi cam kavanoz bulabilmeyi başaramadım hala ama bulunca ilk iş bu tarif olacak. Cam kavanozlara koyunca konserve işlemi gerekiyor mu? Yoksa bu tarif buzdolabında saklamak için mi?
Konserve işlemine gerek yok. Güneşte iyice kuruduğundan emin olun veya pişiriyorsanız suyunu çektiğinden emin olun. Kavanozlara doldurunca da en üst yüzeye birazcık zeytinyağ gezdirirseniz havayla teması önlemiş olursunuz. Buzdolabına koymanız gerekmez.