Every Autumn I use the wonderful juicy autumnal tomatoes to make my own tomato paste, which I then freeze. The recipe comes from a book on life in Tuscany, which I have since lost track of. And rather than bottle it, I freeze it in small bits, ready to bring out and pop into any dish that needs it. It lasts all winter.
I usually store in individual small containers, but you could freeze in an icecube tray and then put the cubes into ziplock bags. The cubes will be ready for you to pop straight into the pan when required. Come to think of it, that would save a lot of space and I might do it that way this year.
Home Made Italian Tomato Paste
Source : from my old Food_Matters Site
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time: 60 mins
Cooking time: 90 – 120 mins
Serves: all winter
ingredients
3 Tblspn olive oil
2 cups onion, finely chopped
4 – 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 – 2 red peppers, finely chopped
1 – 2 large carrots, finely chopped or grated
2 – 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 kg tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
method
Saute the onions, garlic, peppers, carrots and celery in the oil until the onions are soft and clear. Add teh tomatoes and simmer until thick, approx. 45 – 60 minutes. If you chop the ingredients finely enough it will not be necessary to do anything else. Otherwise, sieve them or blend with an immersion blender.
Divide into 2 – 4 Tblspn lots and freeze. Use during winter any time tomato paste is required, or when something needs a tomato hit eg soup, risotto, paella etc.
Read some more:
- The Yum Blog prepares tomato paste using only tomatoes, whenever they are cheap in Bangalore.
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Hi there, I like your photos very much, so professional, certainly increase my appetite.
Hi Janet. Thanks a lot. Hope you don’t mind, i have added your url to your comment so that people can find your new blog.
A really good idea. I love freezing things in ice cube trays. Makes meals quick later.
It sure does, victoria. In the past I have chopped parsley and frozen in cubes, juiced lemons and stored lemon cubes. So handy, and ziplock bags of ice cubes in the freezer save so much space.
The pic says it all!
I freeze a tomato-onion paste (which I use in a lot of North Indian dishes) in my ice tray . It was a very nice tip I got from one of the other blogs.
Oh, the tomato-onion paste sounds wonderful – do you have a recipe? I am loving the ice cube trick too.
What a great idea to make your own tomato paste. I’ve come across the idea before to freeze little bits of it in ice cube trays. I find that I often end up wasting half a tin or so of paste. Will try this.
I am finding the ice cubes so very handy. I do recommend it.
Briliant thought!
That top photo is divine!
Thanks, Lucy. I love pics of empty pots and their suggestiveness, rather than the reality. Pics of cubes of frozen tomato paste could never be as inviting…
thats a lovely idea…should try this method..though we use up so much that we got to make it fresh every time!..that picture is really tempting!
Fresh every time! Wow. That is a lot of tomato cooking
. Thanks for your lovely comments. Isn’t it interesting how an empty bowl or pot can be very evocative.
this is very useful and handy. we prepare tomato paste and freeze it too (my mom does it actually
) – http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/tomato-paste-prepared-in-micro-wave/
I added your link to my post. It sounds an easy way to prepare tomato paste for freezing, too.
Perfect pic!..loved the recipe.Just yesterday brought a big can of tomato paste.Next time will try u’r recipe..
What a pity. Never mind, you can make this when your tomato paste runs out.
what a simple and lovely idea – i’m definitely going to try this. thanks.
Hi arundathi. Glad you are going to try this. It is such a help during the winter months.
And you tease us with an empty pot
Hi Aum, no I don’t mind at all. Thx for helping. I eventually solved the tech problem I mention earlier, I need to learn writing html. New to me but fun. Now I hope I can write more posts after having my blog structure i want. Cheers
I will try this as we have loads of tomato and pepper plants in the garden this year. Thank you for the recipe
Yay! You can make TONS of this, for use throughout the rest of the year. I also sometimes give some away to friends. It makes a very unusual but much appreciated gift.
What a great idea! I love it!
Thanks, Ginny. I have been making this for many years now. Why, just yesterday I popped a frozen cube into a soup that I was making.
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I have been wanting to make my own tomato paste for sometime now! I love to make chilis and sauces from scratch, and am trying to stay away from all canned goods. All the recipes I have found have called for 24-48 tomatoes, and I do not want to make that much at one time! Your recipe only calls for 1 kg.! I have not tried your recipe yet though; it just seems oversimplified. I imagine that the tomatoes still need to be blanched and cored, right?
That’s right – small batches are just fine. Why cook large amounts and stress yourself out? No, I don’t blanch and core. I am a rustic cook, which leaves flavour maximised. I chop the tomatoes into small chunks and this works well. If you don’t chop them small enough you can always meuli the results or give it a whiz with the immersion blender. This is a traditional Italian recipe, and it works so very well. Hope you try it out.
What is “kg” ie How many tomatoes?
A kg is a kilogram. Its a metric unit used in most of the world. It equals around 2.2 pounds. Good luck with your tomatoes.
Hi there, great way to make use of my garden tomatoes.
Great – I hope that you managed to store some in the freezer for winter
I used 35kgs of tomatoes last year and the whole family loved it! My 13 month daughter also eats it with pasta
Next week I will be buying 50kgs of tomatoes and 15 kgs of red pepper, 250 pieces of garlic….etc….just to enjoy this lovely fresh taste all winter long.
Thank for this lovely recipe
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Ganga, thank you for this wonderful recipe and for demonstrating the ways and means of using the freshest and best ingredients to remain healthy. Tomatoes are easily available everywhere, and if we could simply buy them in bulk and prepare the tomato paste to store them for several months, we can easily avoid store bought stuff that uses God knows what! For some expert tips and suggestions on healthy eating habits visit http://knorratseven.blogspot.com/.
I receive a problem subscribing to your RSS Feed… It says feed is activated, nonetheless I never get updates in my feed reader… Any Ideas?
Not sure but I will look into it. I am sure it is fine – keep in mind that I dont always publish regularly.
Hi,I discover that your blog is extremely beneficial and helpful,it’s so helpful to me, you’ve done a great job. I’m a frequent visitor to your blog and can return again soon.
Excellent!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Who knew it was this simple to make tomato paste? The ice cube tray is a good trick! That works for freezing herbs too.
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