This simple homemade tomato paste may be prepared in a slow cooker, oven or on the hob and is a great method to preserve extra tomatoes.Make a simple homemade tomato paste in your oven, slow cooker or on the hob to preserve extra tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

1. 8 pounds of tomatoes
2. 1.5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (not required)

DIRECTIONS

1. After thoroughly cleaning, cut the tomatoes into chunks and remove the stems.
2. The tomato pieces should be added to a blender jar and blended until the tomatoes have reduced to a fine sauce.
3. Place a food mill or mesh strainer over a big pot on the heat (or over the crock of a slow cooker pot) to remove the seeds and skin. Fill the strainer with the tomato sauce. Press the tomato sauce through the sieve and into the pot below using a spoon or spatula.
   Proceed with the leftover tomatoes. This is the moment to add any more vegetables, like as red peppers, if desired.

Cooktop:

Bring the sauce to a simmer over low to medium heat. Stir it sometimes and see how the consistency is. The sauce will get thicker as the water evaporates. Reduce the heat and check on the tomato paste more frequently as it gets thicker. (As it thickens and loses water content, burning is more likely to occur.)

Slow cooker:

Keep the cover off and cook the tomato sauce on low in the slow cooker. You can leave the tomato paste in the slow cooker for extended periods of time without supervision. To keep it from burning, you will need to check on it more frequently as it begins to thicken.

in the oven

You can bake the tomato paste on clean baking sheets over low heat in the oven to further reduce it and give it a more caramelised flavour. Periodically scrape the tomato paste from the tray’s bottom with a spatula and stir it, making sure the consistency is right. While some people prefer to make the tomato paste entirely in the oven, I prefer to reduce it to a thick sauce over the hob.
The tomato paste is ready to be kept or utilised in recipes once you’ve reached the right consistency.

Notes

Although it takes some time, making your own tomato paste is well worth the effort. Then, you can add it to homemade taco meat or use it in soups and sauces.