Homemade Tomato Paste

Tomatoes contain cancer fighting nutrients.

Chefs from around the world use tomatoes in many dishes. Tomatoes rich in lycopene, an antioxidant with known cancer-fighting properties, make a healthy dietary addition. The red color of tomatoes comes from lycopene. While cooking depletes nutrients from many fruits and vegetables, the presence of lycopene actually increases with the heat processing of tomatoes. A favorite of home gardeners, tomatoes often produce a bumper crop of fruit.

Homemade tomato paste provides a way to use up an abundance of tomatoes, whether home grown or purchased during peak seasons at a good price. Homemade tomato paste leaves out unhealthy chemicals used in commercially processed tomato paste. Tweak tomato paste recipes to suit your own taste.

Things You'll Need

• 4 dozen Roma tomatoes
• 3 red bell peppers
• Large onion
• Bay leaf
• Bunch fresh basil leaves
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 3 cloves garlic
• Large stockpot
• Sieve or blender

Instructions

1. Wash the tomatoes, peppers and basil leaves.

2. Chop the peppers, onion, basil leaves and garlic.

3. Boil water; put the tomatoes in the boiling water for just a few seconds to blanch. Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and remove the skins.

4. Put the tomatoes, peppers, bay leaf, basil, Italian seasoning and salt in a pot and cover with 2 quarts water. Bring to a boil and boil for one hour.

5. Remove the bay leaf. Press the cooked vegetables and spices through a sieve or process in a blender until smooth.

6. Return the vegetable mixture to the pot and simmer until thick enough to stick to a spoon. This generally takes between two and three hours.

Tips & Warnings

• Freeze or can tomato paste to preserve it for future use.

• Stir the tomato paste frequently while cooking to keep it from burning.

References

• Health Food Guide: The Amazing Health Benefits of the Tomato