Search This Blog

Thursday 13 October 2011

Cherry Tomato and Capsicum Paste

I generally don't like tomato paste, I find it very 'packety'. It can taste good when used well but usually I just find it way too overpowering. Luckily, I have an over abundance of cherry tomatoes at the moment and this experiment worked pleasingly well. If you have the time (about 2 hours) for about 10 tbs worth of great gear, do this and use it in place of bought tomato paste in things like gravies, pizzas, pastas and sauces. I used this firstly to make a sauce from the pan leftovers from a pork belly to which I added some basil, silverbeet and wine. Rad.

About 500 gms cherry tomatoes
2 medium capsicum deseeded
3 cloves garlic minced
2 shallots (1 small onion) in fine dice
1 stick celery in fine dice
200ml tomato passata
A few thyme sprigs finely chopped
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Blitz the capsicum in a blender, add the cherry tomatoes and blitz again. Do in batches if necessary. Heat the oil over a medium heat and saute the onion, celery, garlic and thyme until soft. Add in the blitzed tomato and capsicum and the tomato passata. Bring to the boil over medium then reduce to medium low and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Toward the end, stir more frequently as it will begin to catch. Check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary. When it has reached a thick consistency, remove from the heat, allow to cool and spoon into storage containers to freeze or use straight away.

Bruschetta of tomato paste, salmon, triple cream brie and basil

No comments:

Post a Comment