Grocery Essentials

Tamek Tomato Paste

Twice-concentrated Turkish tomato paste. The base of nearly every Turkish, Arab and Persian home-cooked dish.

Salça is what a British recipe calls "double concentrate", but denser, sweeter and less sharp. Tamek is the household name in Turkey, made from summer-ripened plum tomatoes cooked down until the sugars deepen and the colour turns brick red. One tablespoon opens a whole pot of soup or a rice base. Fry it first in oil until the colour darkens by a shade, then add liquid. Goes into red lentil soup, bulgur pilaf, chicken stews, kısır. Across Turkish, Arab and Persian kitchens the pattern is the same. A large 830g jar lasts a Bristol family for weeks.