Thermomix Tomato Paste

1. Put the tomatoes into the Thermomix bowl, whatever you can fit. I managed to squish the tomatoes down with the lid.

2. Chop for 10-30 seconds on speed 6.

3. Add salt, sugar, oil and bay leaves.

4. Cook for 40 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 1.

5. Turn speed slowly up to 6, then build up to 9. Pulverise for a minute.

6. Scrape the mixture from the sides down into the bowl, then cook for another 40 minutes as above.

Keep repeating steps 4 and 5 until the tomato paste is the consistency and colour you prefer. Because the tomato paste in the photos was a first attempt, I erred on the side of caution, not wanting to burn it, but I think next time I’ll try to reduce the mixture further, making it more of a deep red. You can also add red capsicums (bell peppers) to the mixture, too.

This recipe won’t keep long in the fridge, so I froze it into blocks, with only a small amount kept in the fridge.