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Tomato Paste

Also known as Tomato Paste (Nigerian Home-Made Concentrate)

Nigerian home-made tomato paste — made from fresh Nigerian tomatoes reduced to a concentrated, deep-flavoured paste — is dramatically superior in flavour to commercial tomato paste and allows Nigerian cooks to capture the extraordinary quality of Nigerian tomatoes at their seasonal peak for year-round use. Nigerian tomatoes, particularly those grown in Plateau State during the dry season, have an exceptional sweetness, acidity and depth of flavour that makes Nigerian home-mad

Tomato Paste, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • A very large quantity of the ripest, most deeply coloured Nigerian tomatoes available — the more tomatoes, the more paste
  • Salt — to taste and as a natural preservative
  • A little vegetable oil — poured over the top of each jar to seal

Method

  1. 01

    Preparing the Tomatoes. Wash the tomatoes thoroughly. Remove stalks. Quarter each tomato.

  2. 02

    Initial Blending. Blend the quartered tomatoes in large batches until smooth. Do not add water — the tomatoes contain sufficient moisture.

  3. 03

    Long Reduction — The Core of the Method. Pour all the blended tomato into a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a vigorous simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring regularly, for 1.5 to 2 hours until the tomato has reduced to a concentrated paste consistency — thick enough to mound slightly on a spoon. The paste should have turned from bright red to a deep, dark, brick-red colour. Add salt to taste during the reduction.

  4. 04

    Jarring and Preserving. Pour the hot paste into sterilised glass jars while still hot. Smooth the surface. Pour a thin layer of vegetable oil over the surface of each jar to seal and preserve. Close tightly.

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