One of life’s greatest mysteries is why tomato paste is sold in 6-ounce cans when a recipe only typically calls for a tablespoon or two.
Do big corporations simply fool us into buying more than we need? Is this a conspiracy theory? Or was canned tomato paste developed by a man? (Yes, yes, and yes.)
The only recipes I’ve ever come across that use up an entire can of tomato paste are big batches of tomato sauce and pasta. But even then, there are still caveats. The sauce for
's shallot pasta uses a whole can of tomato paste but you’re only supposed to use half of it at once—she recommends storing the rest of the sauce in the fridge for putting on fried eggs or roasted vegetables. It’s delicious and you absolutely should make it but alas this does not solve our mystery.More often than not, a tin of tomato paste sits helplessly in the fridge loosely covered with aluminum foil until I can figure out something else to do with it.
But the entire purpose of this Substack is to make good leftovers from whatever bits and bobs you have around so here we go. A 6-ounce can of tomato paste nets out to about 6 tablespoons, equivalent to three recipes.
Disclaimer: This entire problem can be solved if you choose to be smart and buy tubed tomato paste. While tubed tomato is more expensive, it also lasts a few months when refrigerated, according to Google. But where’s the fun in not having an inherent challenge that makes you work?!
Spicy soup
Amount of tomato paste used: 2 tablespoons
There are very few soups that I don’t love, especially right now as we are still deep in soup season.
I made Dan Pelosi’s (his recipes are repeat hits) tortellini soup from the New York Times Cooking a couple of weeks ago. I made it during a particularly busy week and had no problem eating it a few nights in a row.
And duh—the soup freezes perfectly, meaning I also stashed some away to make a future version of myself happy.
It’s brothy, spicy, a tiny bit creamy (but not too much), and satisfying. The recipe calls for a handful of greens that are added at the end but I added an entire 5-ounce container of spinach at the end to sneak in more greens and convince myself that a bowl of brothy pasta is somehow healthy.
Obviously I topped it with loads of parm, black pepper and more red pepper flakes because I’m not an animal.
Vodka beans
Amount of tomato paste used: 2 tablespoons
Yep—vodka beans.
I keep no less than three cans of beans on hand that help when I stare endlessly at the pantry manifesting dinner to appear. As we’ve already discussed, chickpeas are great. But guess what—so are butter beans. They’re big, creamy, and soak up the flavors of whatever they’re cooked in.
For a work-from-home lunch recently, I made
’s beans alla vodka—like pasta alla vodka but with uh, beans. Similar to its pasta variety, the whole thing only takes a few minutes to simmer, first thickening up before thinning it (and burning off the alcohol) from a splash of vodka.
Top it with parm, a drizzle of olive oil, and some balsamic vinegar.
If you’re like me, inhale this while standing over the kitchen sink between Zoom meetings.
I ate half a can of beans for lunch, and the other half easily reheated in a skillet for another lunch later in the week.
Tomato-braised salmon
Amount of tomato paste used: 2 tablespoons
As a ‘90s kid, I would like to know what the hell happened to sun-dried tomatoes. They were everywhere. Then they disappeared overnight. The short answer: They got too popular, causing their quality to quickly go downhill. 😭
For some unexplainable reason, I had a jar of sun-dried tomatoes around and obviously some tomato paste. So, I made Eric Kim’s Marry Me Salmon from the New York Times—like the viral Marry Me Chicken but with uh, salmon (are you noticing a theme here?).
The sauce is creamy and tangy, and I chopped up some chives to put on top.
Per usual, there were leftovers, which I put on top of some leftover rice, kimchi, and sliced cucumber.
All told, these three meals effectively used up a can of tomato paste! Goal accomplished!
I love Brightland olive oil! And every month, they put together these fun graphics showing what’s currently in season. February’s produce may be bleak but there’s still citrus, fennel, and radicchio to look forward to.
Cabot Creamery’s HORSERADISH cheese!! I’ve long bought Cabot cheese for snacking (my favorite is Seriously Sharp Cheddar) but I only recently learned that they make other types of flavored cheese.
The horseradish has the slightest bite but isn’t too strong! There are also habanero and pepper jack flavors.
I’ve been eating the cheese with crackers and fruit for lunch. (Plus, these Matiz pickled peppers are legitimately insane).
Bon Appétit went to Radio Bakery in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood to see how its famous focaccia is made. Radio Bakery is in the process of opening its second location nearby to my apartment soon, too!
Ok bye!!!
I hate wasting my tomato paste—usually I’ll use it up making mini tortilla pizzas, but the soup and bean toast recipes sound WAY more luxurious and yummy!!