Quick tomato paste
Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2021 4:34 pm
Well, not totally quick, as I started it a couple nights ago, in the dehydrator! 
This morning I made the paste, using some slightly dried tomatoes - not dry enough that they could be stored, but it removed a lot of the moisture, making it much faster than cooking down sauce, and much cleaner! I went through my junk tomatoes a couple nights ago, and cored them, and cut out the bad spots, and put them on parchment, in the dehydrator, and reduced to about 1/4 the original weight. Turns out, I had to add a little more water, to get it to circulate in the Vitamix, but I got it circulating, and left it on high for about 3 minutes - the skin and seeds are GONE after this, and it's steaming slightly. Usually, skin and seeds have to me removed at some point, using a food mill, but with tomatoes, as well as chile peppers, skins and seeds are totally ground up in the VM. I learned that the first time I made one of those things in it, and went to press it through a strainer, and there was nothing in it! This took less than 20 minutes, not including cutting up the tomatoes, and the dehydrating!
Half dried tomatoes, blended in Vitamix, until steamy, about 3 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
I wiped a wok lightly with oil, before adding the paste, and cooked it on med-high, scraping almost constantly - like cooking a Mexican paste.
Tomato paste cooked in wok on med-high, for just a minute. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
I cooked it about 7 minutes - what I cook most of those Mexican sauces for - to get it to a thick paste.
Tomato paste, cooked for 7 minutes, ready to cool. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Tomato paste, cooked and cooling, to put in the freezer - a little over 5 lbs cooked down to 13.5 oz. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
This morning I made the paste, using some slightly dried tomatoes - not dry enough that they could be stored, but it removed a lot of the moisture, making it much faster than cooking down sauce, and much cleaner! I went through my junk tomatoes a couple nights ago, and cored them, and cut out the bad spots, and put them on parchment, in the dehydrator, and reduced to about 1/4 the original weight. Turns out, I had to add a little more water, to get it to circulate in the Vitamix, but I got it circulating, and left it on high for about 3 minutes - the skin and seeds are GONE after this, and it's steaming slightly. Usually, skin and seeds have to me removed at some point, using a food mill, but with tomatoes, as well as chile peppers, skins and seeds are totally ground up in the VM. I learned that the first time I made one of those things in it, and went to press it through a strainer, and there was nothing in it! This took less than 20 minutes, not including cutting up the tomatoes, and the dehydrating!
Half dried tomatoes, blended in Vitamix, until steamy, about 3 minutes. by pepperhead212, on FlickrI wiped a wok lightly with oil, before adding the paste, and cooked it on med-high, scraping almost constantly - like cooking a Mexican paste.
Tomato paste cooked in wok on med-high, for just a minute. by pepperhead212, on FlickrI cooked it about 7 minutes - what I cook most of those Mexican sauces for - to get it to a thick paste.
Tomato paste, cooked for 7 minutes, ready to cool. by pepperhead212, on FlickrTomato paste, cooked and cooling, to put in the freezer - a little over 5 lbs cooked down to 13.5 oz. by pepperhead212, on Flickr