Homemade Tomato Paste Recipe

Homemade Tomato Paste can take almost any dish to a next level. It is not hard to make it at home as long as you have good tomatoes and enough time. You will notice that it is way better than the canned version.

September in Turkey is the month for preserving or pickling foods for Winter. We start getting prepared for winter with making salça either from red bell peppers (pepper paste) or tomatoes (tomato paste). You can find the best tomatoes of the year in this month, so you must preserve them for future cookings, right?

What Is Tomato Paste Made Of?

Homemade tomato paste is made of tomatoes and a little salt. Nothing else is needed. Tomato skin and seeds are removed in an easy process and cooked with salt over the stove, in the oven or under the sun until thick.

How To Make Tomato Paste Recipe

It is an easy recipe with four steps:

• First, puree the tomatoes in your food processor. The only thing you need to do before putting the tomatoes in the processor is to cut them into halves or quarters, removing the stems for sure. Puree the tomatoes in batches and pour the puree into a large pot.
• Second, cook it over the stove. Sprinkle salt over the tomato puree and 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 cooled tomato sauce into the strainer. Press down the sauce using a spoon until only the seeds and the skin remains in the strainer.
• 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, 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 the third step above, there are two alternative methods you can use:

1. Continue cooking the sauce over the stove. Pour the sauce back in the pot and keep cooking over the lowest heat until it reduces by more than half and gets thick.
2. Bake it in the oven. 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 Homemade Tomato Paste

Transfer the 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.

What Are Tomato Paste Uses?

In Soups: Tomato paste is a perfect addition to winter soups like Turkish Soup With Orzo, Fresh Oyster Mushroom Soup, Tomato Chicken 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.

At Breakfast: 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 meatballs, chicken dishes or pasta dishes. 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 Make Tomato Sauce From Tomato Paste

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 tomato sauce and turn them into a whole new meal.

FAQs About Tomato Paste

• What type of tomatoes are good for making tomato paste? Meaty tomatoes like plum, roma or fresh salsa tomatoes are the best options. You can definitely use heirloom tomatoes too but they are juicier, so you will end up with less paste.
• What can I use as a tomato paste substitute? Use tomato puree as a substitute but you need to increase the amount. On the other hand, if tomato paste is a must in a recipe, you had better simmer tomato puree with a little salt in a sauce pan until it gets thicker.
• How is it different from tomato puree? Tomato paste is way thicker and has a denser flavor.
• Can you eat raw tomato paste? Well, it is not raw at all. And yes, you can eat it as it is. It is a great snack when you spread some on a piece of bread.

OTHER RECIPES USING TOMATO PASTE

• Shrimp Recipe With Tomato Sauce
• Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
• Beef and Cabbage Stew
• Homemade Pizza Sauce From Scratch

OTHER TOMATO RECIPES

• Creamy Tomato Soup Vegan
• Cold Stuffed Tomatoes
• Tomato Fritters Recipe
• Roasted Tomato Soup Recipe
• Breakfast Stuffed Tomatoes

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This post was originally published in 2013 and has been updated with new pictures and additional information.