I'm a Chef & This Is The One Pantry Item I Never Leave the Store Without

I'm a chef and this is my ode to tomato paste.

My first encounter with tomato paste occurred during a summer in Spain about twenty years ago. I watched my best friend's little sister rub a garlic clove over her morning toast, then smear tomato paste over it. I subsequently watched her smear tomato paste on virtually everything else she consumed, from hefty slices of egg and potato tortilla espanola to delicate little sausages. I followed her lead and I have never looked back. I am even eating tomato paste on leftover schnitzel right now as I write this article. And yes, it is absolutely marvelous.

Tomato paste is a staple in my pantry and I religiously purchase two tubes at a time. Once that first tube is consumed, I then purchase two more. My husband is a single tuber and so with our combined efforts at tomato paste math, we usually have an extra tube on hand at all times.

I now spread tomato paste on toast before loading it up with slices of avocado and an over medium egg, then grate cheese on top. Sometimes I torment my Jewish, bagel-loving husband by making him "pizza bagels" – toast that I punch a hole into the center, slather with tomato paste and melt cheese on top of. Odd? Maybe. Delicious? Absolutely.

There's naturally-occurring MSG in tomatoes, which is intensified by the process of cooking then straining them into paste – this is what makes tomato paste so delicious. Tomato paste also purportedly also has higher levels of the antioxidant lycopene than fresh tomatoes, which protects against some cancers and boosts your skin's glow. (I may not be a scientist, but I do have good skin that I attribute in part to tomato paste and in part to regular use of sunscreen.)

Tomato paste is sweet, but its sweetness is balanced with an unguent, pleasurable, savory depth. I can very well eat it plain, dotted on my finger (I know, it's weird), but just a little squiggle on my eggs transforms them into something miraculous. Smear it on toast, mix it with mayonnaise or whip it with Greek yogurt for a rich dip. It's packed with nutrients and makes a wonderful, nourishing soup when blended with miso and hot water (use a Vitamix for ultimate creaminess).

Two simple ingredients render a pasta sauce in a pinch when tomato paste is whisked with a bit of melted butter. Toss your pasta into the tomato butter hot and swirl the pan vigorously to emulsify the sauce. Tomato paste is the base of many variations of umami-rich tomato sauce – just try making tomato sauce for pizza or lasagna without it and you'll end up cooking down tomatoes forever and still not achieve the richness of a sauce made with tomato paste.

And while I understand the desire to dollop a tomato-based condiment upon your French fries and burgers, I have always hated ketchup. (For years I ran a food truck that served hot dogs with sriracha mayo and furikake, and which tomato ketchup was banned from. If you were ever a customer of mine who asked for tomato ketchup, I have definitely told you, "Ketchup is stupid.") Again, enter tomato paste. Don't like the texture? Think it's too thick? Whisk a little bit of olive oil into your tomato paste until you're happy and dip, dollop and/or spread til your heart's content.

I buy tomato paste in tubes because if I purchase one of those impossible cute little cans of tomato paste then forget about it at the back of my fridge until it's dotted with white mold, then I have just put the wheels of a tragedy into motion. A metal tube will squirt out fresh tomato paste until you use your bench scraper to flatten it, so it ejects every precious ounce of tomato paste. May this also be advice to you for using a bench scraper to flatten your tomato paste—and your toothpaste tubes while you're at it.