Taste your paste

When was the last time you tasted tomato paste? I’ve literally used tons of it over the years and it’s only recently that I’ve started to taste it. Because it’s an ingredient and not an end product we don’t bother tasting it but rather just toss it in the pot. Maybe it’s too concentrated for our taste buds in the raw state, too tomatoey, too salty or maybe the thought just never crossed our minds. Come to think of it what is the difference between tomato paste and tomato puree? Are they both the same thing and are they interchangeable in a recipe?
Tomato puree consists of tomatoes which have been skinned, deseeded, chopped and reduced by half to a thick puree normally a brightish red in colour. Tomato paste or concentrate has been cooked for several hours and reduced to a thick rich, darker red concentrate usually with salt added. So the answer to the first question is quite obviously that each will produce a different result in a dish dependant on amount added.
The other variable is of course the tomatoes which are used to prepare the paste. I can’t say for sure but I find it difficult to believe that top quality tomatoes would go into these products and so you could possibly be just selecting the best of a bad bunch on your supermarket shelves. All of this could present problems if you are one of those poor souls who cook by numbers and not feeling. How much paste equals how much puree? Greek or Italian or local? Which brand? If this is salty by how much do I decrease the rest of the salt in the recipe? Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Here’s a simple solution - make your own and have total control. It’s very simple really and doesn’t require all those silly cheffy moves like skinning and deseeding tomatoes. You don’t even have to watch it and the difference it will make to your pasta sauces, stews and casseroles will be inestimable. Of course when your friends ask you what’s the secret of your fantastic pasta sauce you can always lean across the table, look them straight in the eye and ask " When was the last time you tasted tomato paste?"
3-2-1 Tomato Paste
Chop up some fresh tomatoes into quarters and place in a single layer in a roasting pan. Drizzle with good quality olive oil, season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, a little dried oregano and the lightest sprinkle of sugar. Place in oven preset at 80 C but not switched on. Relax in your favourite armchair and watch TV. On your way to bed switch on the oven. When you get up in the morning switch off the oven. When you feel like it tip the roasted tomatoes plus any oil into a blender along with some marinated sundried tomatoes and some of your favourite commercial tomato paste and zap to a smooth paste. Ratio roughly 3 parts roasted tomato, 2 parts sundried tomato and 1 part tomato paste. Taste it! This will keep for a week or two in the fridge or can be frozen.
That’s the basic technique but now you can experiment - plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, more sundried less sundried, a touch of garlic, some balsamic?
Blend in fresh basil or fresh coriander with some toasted pinenuts or even cashews and you’ve got a tomato tapenade for meze spreads or stir into some boiled cream for a great pasto sauce. You’ve got the idea, experiment and find your own style.