Recipe: Tomato paste

Various tomatoes. Photo / Michael Craig

This is a good way to use all the last tomatoes on the vine, the over-ripe ones and the not-so-perfect.

1. Place all the tomatoes on a big baking tray.

2. Add some garlic cloves and a few chopped onions. You could add red peppers.

3. Add a bit of rosemary, thyme or bay.

4. Liberally dress with olive oil.

5. Roast in a medium oven, stirring occasionally. When soft and collapsing, allow to cool and blitz to a smooth paste in a blender.

6. Force the paste through a sieve, using a wooden spoon to extract all the goodness and remove any twiggy bits.

Freeze this concentrated tomato in small portions and use to add to sauces, stews or soups.