"tomato paste" news and stories

Looking to deepen the flavor and color of your soups, stews and other preparations? Try tomato paste.

Products like tomato paste or chipotle en abobo add essential depth of flavor to many dishes, but most recipes only call for one or two tablespoons at a time.

The fiend that is tomato paste: Most recipes call for a little smidge, but even a small can is way too much. These tips will help you make the most of your paste.

When I talked to my mom yesterday, she had just finished picking the last of the tomatoes off the plants in the backyard. The weather in Portland has made the seasonal shift from Summer to Fall (unlike here in Philly where it is still gorgeous and warm, with only a hint of autumnal crispness) and so it was time to get any remaining produce out of the garden and transformed into states that store well. She made a huge batch of tomato sauce which got frozen in quart sized ziploc bags.

However, she's still got mountains of tomatoes and is in the market for some additional ways to use them. I think that there might be others of you who are in the same predicament. If so, you could turn some of your bounty into a batch of tomato paste like they did over at the Apartment Farm. If you don't have a food mill, don't let that stop you from making this recipe. You can use a fine mesh sieve and a rubber spatula instead. Another option comes from Nicole at Farm to Philly, who transformed the sea of red covering her outdoor table into two pints of homemade catsup. I'm especially tempted by this recipe, as I hate the fact that most ketchup includes a (not so) healthy does of corn syrup.

There are several methods to making jambalaya, and I am sure people will argue until the end of time as to which is better, but personally I like them both. The first type, which is what I made, is known as Creole-style or red jambalaya which includes tomatoes. The second type, Cajun jambalaya, is brown in color and does not have any tomatoes added.

Red jambalaya is very easy to prepare and can be made in one pot, though I tend to fry my sausage separately to ensure that it is well done. That's just my choice though, you can do it either way. I chose to use ham and andouille sausage for mine, but there are a number of different meats and seafood you can use, it is all a matter of personal taste and what you have available.

I've included the recipe after the jump, as well as some suggestions as to how you can make this dish suit your personal preferences.