Yesterday I picked up a few Roma tomato "seconds" when I was as Fair Shares to make more tomato paste. But I didn't buy enough to bother canning it. Which was actually a good thing. I got to have some for lunch today!
Last night I blanched and peeled the 12 tomatoes, then put them in the fridge overnight, since I didn't have time to cook them down to a paste. This morning I drained off the excess water, threw them in the food processor to chop, then dropped them in the crock pot, along with a bay leaf, a garlic clove and a pinch sea salt. I left the crock pot uncovered and set it to high, then left to take my daughter to school and go walk with friends.
When I came home, I had a beautiful, rich tomato paste. I removed the bay leaf and garlic clove, and was going to put it in a ziplock bag to freeze, but then I walked by my basil and the combination of smells told me I had to eat some.
I spread some of the paste on a hearty slice of Companion 5 grain bread and chopped some fresh basil on top. I was going to add some shredded cheese, but decide it may be better kept simple, and I was right. The deep tomato flavor, with the hit of basil on the hearty bread was perfect. I did add some Alpenglow cheese on the side to have some protein. The Alpen glow cheese has a mild, buttery flavor that complemented the tomato paste sandwich. (I am not much of a cheese person, but I love this one!)
I now need I need to pick up more tomatoes next week so I can add to my tomato paste stash I canned last month. Having tasty tomato paste all year long will will be a treat on a cold, winter day.
How do you use tomato paste?
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