How to make sun-dried tomato, walnut and chipotle chilli paste

Mixed with chopped nuts, lemon, garlic and chilli, these tomatoes make a moreish vegan spread for crackers or bread, says Julia Platt Leonard

(Julia Platt Leonard)

Sun-dried tomatoes were popular in the Eighties and Nineties, tossed into pasta dishes and salads with reckless abandon.

No self-respecting kitchen cupboard was complete without a jar of them. But they were overused (sun-dried ice cream, anyone?) and we turned our collective culinary backs on them.

But maybe it’s time we welcomed them back into the kitchen.

When used judiciously, sun-dried tomatoes are a nice store cupboard staple to have on hand.

I go for smaller tomatoes that still have some bend to them, rather than the fully dried larger varieties.

They make a moreish paste with the help of chopped nuts, lemon zest, a bit of garlic and some chilli – the perfect vegan spread for crackers or slices of bread.

Keep the paste in a jar in the fridge and you’ve got an instant way to jazz up blanched green beans or roasted cauliflower or a bowl of chick peas. Just skip the ice cream. There are limits.

(Julia Platt Leonard)

Sun-dried tomato, walnut and chipotle chilli paste

85g sun-dried tomatoes
55g walnuts (or other nuts)
1 lemon, finely zested​
1 whole dried chipotle chilli 
½ clove garlic
110 ml olive oil

Place the chipotle chilli in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit and rehydrate for 10-15 minutes. When it’s softened, remove from the water, slice open and remove the stem and seeds. Coarsely chop.

Toast the nuts in a frying pan or in the oven until lightly golden, watching them closely to ensure they don’t burn.

Coarsely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts. Place them in the small bowl of a food processor or mini blender. Add the lemon zest, garlic, chopped chipotle chilli and about ⅓ of the oil. Blitz.

Stop and stir and then add the remaining oil so you have a thick paste.

@Juliapleonard