What to do When the Recipe Calls for a Tablespoon of Tomato Paste

As a test run for my new Instant Pot, I decided to make this recipe from The Kitchn for Chicken Tikka Masala. Like many recipes that use tomato paste to add depth of flavor, it calls for 2 tablespoons out of the can.

When this happens in our kitchen, we freeze the rest and have one tablespoon dollops ready for the next recipe where it is needed. Here's how Penny does it.

She preps a quarter sheet pan by covering it in a double layer of parchment paper and readies a freezer bag to hold the final product.

She measures one tablespoon portions of the tomato paste using a small rubber spatula as her tool of choice and places them on the parchment.

We pop the sheet pan into the freezer until the tomato paste is frozen.

Finally, she snuggles the dollops closer together, wraps them with the parchment, and tucks the package into their freezer bag. 

The next time we feel like a bit of Tikka, we'll pop out 2 tablespoons as we gather our mise en place.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2016 Penny & Ed Cherubino