7 Ways Chefs Extend Tomato Season, From Sofrito to Salsa

Tomatoes are the undisputed stars of summer gardens and farmers markets. And thanks to various preservation techniques, their sun-ripened flavor can be enjoyed long after they're picked from the vine — even (and especially) the ones you might otherwise discard.

"At the end of the season, buy the tomatoes that are really ripe, a little bruised, or maybe not quite beautiful enough for the farmers market display," says Jose Garces , chef-owner of several restaurants, including Amada in Philadelphia. "Those are often perfect for sofrito, sauces, and preserving, and [are] a great way to support local farmers while making sure that incredible end-of-summer harvest doesn't go to waste."

Anthony Bucco, chief culinary officer of hospitality group By Landmark , agrees. "Buy ugly ones. Ask your farmer for seconds, splits, and overripe [tomatoes] by the case." 

While tomato sauce is an obvious use for preserving a taste of tomatoes year-round, the possibilities are nearly endless. Here are seven clever ways chefs extend tomato season beyond sauce.

Related: The Only Tomato You Should Use for Sauce, According to Chefs

Freeze them

One of the easiest methods for preserving tomatoes is to simply freeze them, says Harley Peet, corporate chef of Bluepoint Hospitality . Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked dishes such as soups , stews, chili, and homemade sauces since "freezing breaks down their cell walls and makes them soft and mushy," says Peet. After cleaning and drying whole tomatoes, freeze them on trays, then transfer them to zip-close bags. 

Turn them into tomato paste

If you have a lot of tomatoes to use up, Bucco suggests making tomato paste by roasting pureed tomatoes until they transform into a concentrated paste. They'll cook down to a much smaller amount, and "that's the point," says Bucco. "It's the whole harvest concentrated down to something you can use a tablespoon at a time."

Related: 16 Ways to Use Tomato Paste, From Tomato Bisque to Shakshuka

You'll be grateful you invested the time and effort when tomatoes are no longer in season. "A spoonful of this in January does more for a braise or a ragù than a whole case of out-of-season tomatoes," he says. 

Start next-season salsa

Prep some homemade salsa as a favor to your future self. "I clean and quickly boil the skin off all of the late-season tomatoes. Then I chop rather finely, letting excessive juice drain away," says Aimee Olexy, chef-owner of Pennsylvania restaurants including Talula's Table and The Love . "I sprinkle it with freshly ground cumin and freeze it in pints."

When a craving for chips and salsa hits, defrost the spiced frozen tomatoes in a colander and build your salsa with ingredients like cilantro, jalapeño, green onion slivers, corn, avocado, Tajín, and ripe mango or pineapple, she says. Olexy calls it the "best next-season salsa."

Related: 24 Vibrant Salsa Recipes

Build a sofrito

Garces especially likes to make a sofrito "because the end of tomato season also coincides with an abundance of beautiful sweet peppers," he says. "I'll slowly cook tomatoes with sweet peppers, onions, garlic, and good olive oil until everything breaks down and the flavors become concentrated, sweet, and almost jammy."

He'll add herbs, spices, and/or chiles based on what he may have on hand, but always keeps the base simple. Garces portions the sofrito and freezes it to use as a base for rice and beans, soups, stews, and braises or to pair with chicken, grilled fish, or vegetables. "You're basically capturing late summer in a container and giving yourself a really flavorful head start on dinner months later." 

Make some soup

Kyle Perkins, executive chef of The Tides Inn in Irvington, Virginia, recommends making tomato soup to freeze for the colder months. He starts by caramelizing onions in a large pot. Meanwhile he roasts 10 seeded tomatoes at 300°F or until golden brown on the outside, about one to two hours. Then he adds the tomatoes, one gallon of vegetable stock, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and garlic to the pot and lets everything simmer for about four hours.

"During this process, we want to extract the sugars from the onions and tomatoes to reduce the acidity, which is why we cook the tomatoes for a long period of time," says Perkins. Once it's cooked, he blends the soup and freezes it into portions to enjoy throughout the winter months. 

You can also add tomatoes to vegetable stock .

Related: I Tested 8 Ways to Store Tomatoes — This Simple Trick Kept Them Juicy and Mold-Free for Over a Week

Slow-cook them for tomato confit

Several chefs recommend cooking tomatoes slowly in olive oil to make a tomato confit . The ingredients are simple: tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, and herbs if you want. 

Once the tomatoes are cooled, pack them into jars with their oil completely covering them and store them in the refrigerator. Bucco says you can keep them in the fridge for three weeks. 

Alternatively, portion the confit and freeze it to use as a pizza topping or in pasta salads and antipasti platters, says Perkins. You can also serve the confit with roasted fish, add it to sandwiches, or spoon it onto toasted bread, says Garces. As a bonus, he adds, you can use the infused olive oil in other dishes. 

Whip up a sweet treat

Perkins featured tomato granita at his restaurant this year as a fun way to showcase tomatoes. "We served it with vanilla ice cream as a playful take on one of Philadelphia's favorite summer treats: water ice or gelati," he says. He blends tomato juice with fresh lime juice, cucumber, cilantro, serrano pepper, and yellow onion with water until smooth, then strains the mixture, pours it into shallow pans, and pops it in the freezer. As it freezes, he scrapes the mixture to create flaky, light crystals. It might be the sweetest way to extend tomato season.

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