Passato! Passato! Passato!

Sounds more punchy than Tomato Pureed ! Tomato Pureed ! Tomato Pureed ! doesn't it!?

My recent visit to Mediterranean Wholesale Supermarket, during which I discovered smoked fish, was actually a visit to find tinned tomatoes. And this warehouse style shop has every Italian staple you could expect, plus more.

The isle of tomato based products needed some time to navigate my way through and it seems that tomato puree is just as important to your Italian cooking supplies as tinned tomatoes. The beauty of passato is that all the hard work is done for you and you have a ready made tomato product that doesn't need straining or any additional assistance. Sometimes tinned tomatoes are great for pasta sauces as the whole tomatoes when broken up still provide texture to your dish.

Needless to say, I walked out with passato instead of tinned tomatoes.

Pureed tomato, as the name suggests are smooth, almost like a soup. Passato suits a range of dishes, not just pasta sauces. In fact, my friend Jen and I went to the Queen Vic Markets this morning and on her shopping list were ingredients for making a duck ragout (which included the addition of passato). I've also used it in soups, risottos and casserole type dishes. Here's a fabulous soup recipe, just in time for the cooler months ahead!

Very Addictive Chilli Bean and Chickpea Soup

1/4 cup olive oil
3 large onions, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cummin
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely diced
1 large red pepper, diced
3 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1.5 litres passato
1/4 cup burghul
1 x 420g tin of chickpeas, drained
1 x 420g tin of kidney beans, not drained
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Measure ALL ingredients first. The list is quite long so getting this out of the way first up is the best place to start.
Warm the oil, then add the onion and garlic. Cook until golden, around 8 minutes
Scoop in the tomato paste and cook for a further minute.
Stir in the celery, carrots, peppers, tomatoes and thyme and coat with wet mixture.
Mix in ALL remaining ingredients and bring the mixure to the boil.
Stir occasionally so the burghul doesn't stick. Reduce the heat and simmer/boil for 30 minutes.
Now you are ready to rock n' roll. Serve with yoghurt, crusty bread and maybe some smoked paprika on the top! YUM!!