Tomato paste from Santorini

1. Select mature and firm tomatoes without any bumps or bruises.
2. Rinse well and make a shallow cross-cut (only across the skin) on the bottom.
3. Blanch tomatoes in plenty of boiling water for 30 seconds.
4. Blanching a few tomatoes at a time works best, otherwise, they will soak and over-boil.
5. Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon and immediately place in a large bowl filled with ice cubes and water to prevent them from over-boiling and becoming too soft.
6. Leave in cold water for a few minutes, until tomatoes cool down.
7. Gently pull off the tomato skins and put peeled tomatoes in a deep tray.
8. Halve and remove the tomato seeds with a spoon then place them in a food processor.
9. Keep the seeds and the tomato juices in the tray.
10. Pass the leftover juices from the tray through a fine strainer and add to food processor.
11. Blend well into a paste and then transfer paste to a deep pot, preferably one with a thick base.
12. The pot must be fairly big because the paste will rise and may spill over.
13. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes.
14. Once the paste thickens, reduce the heat to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pot.
15. Add the salt.
16. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.
17. Cook over a low heat for an additional 30 minutes. At this point should it require you can add some petimezi or any sweetener.
18. The paste is ready when it thickens and scraping a spoon across the pot base leaves no tomato juices behind – just a clean strip, similar to when marmalade has set.
19. Sterilize the mason jars and fill to the top while still warm with the hot tomato paste.
20. Cover each jar with a layer of olive oil and seal shut.
21. Turn jars upside down and leave to cool.
22. Store in a cupboard but once opened, store in the refrigerator for two weeks, ensuring the surface is always covered with a layer of olive oil.

TIP

• When preparing tomato paste, we usually sprinkle some sugar or drizzle some homemade petimezi during the cooking process to balance out the acidity. In fact, bringing together tomato, sugar and vinegar results in a truly delicious combination.