Tomato Magic

With a title like Tomato Magic how could I not be intrigued by this recipe. As I’ve been exploring Paula Wolfert’s The Food of Morocco for The Cookbook Guru I’ve been very much concentrating on learning the building blocks of what creates the flavours in Moroccan savoury foods. Seeing this recipe gave me a little thrill as I thought of its versatility far beyond the recipes in this book. This recipe is so easy to make and produces a far superior tomato paste to the commercial kind you would buy in your local supermarket. Tomato Magic

• 200g sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
• 810g Canned Tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, including the oil that they are packed in, with the canned tomatoes, including their juices, with the salt and 2 tbl spoons of water in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Pour the puree into a wide heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat and reduce to a jam consistency over a medium heat, stirring frequently. This cooking process should take about 30 minutes. Place the tomato into a sterilised jar and cover the surface with olive oil to protect it. This mixture will keep in the fridge for up to a month.  For any extra tomato paste, Wolfert recommends freezing in portions on a tray and then placing into a container or freezer bag that you can use as you need to in future months. Happy Cooking and Happy Eating, Leah

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