Kubaneh with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Dough base

1. 8
   Dissolve the yeast and tsp of the sugar in the lukewarm water and leave about 10 minutes, until the mixture foams.

   💡If the mixture doesn't foam in that time, the yeast is no longer active, or the water was too hot. Start over with fresh yeast and body-temperature water.
2. 9
   Mix the flour, rest of the sugar and salt in a large bowl.

   Bowl
3. 10
   Add the yeast mixture and the butter and Knead about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, pliable and doesn't stick to your hands.

   BowlStand mixer

   💡For yeast dough, use the windowpane test: a small piece stretches into a thin, translucent sheet without tearing, and that's the sign the kneading is done. Add flour only by the tablespoon, and only if the dough is still sticky after a few minutes: too much flour makes a tough dough.
4. 11
   Cover and Let rise 1 hour in a warm place, until the dough doubles in size.

   Plastic wraporKitchen towel

   💡Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot. The dough is ready when it has doubled, and a gentle finger press leaves a dent that fills back slowly; if it springs right back, wait longer.

To assemble

1. 12
   Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll each into a strip.
2. 13
   Grease The pot with the oil.

   Pot
3. 14
   Arrange the strips in The pot.

   Pot
4. 15
   Cover and let rise 30 minutes.

   Kitchen towel
5. 16
   Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).

   Oven
6. 17
   Put the pot in the oven and bake 30 minutes, until golden.

   OvenPot
7. 18
   Bring a pot of water to a boil, deep enough to cover the egg by about 2 cm.

   StovePot
8. 19
   Gently lower the egg into it with a spoon.
9. 20
   Turn down the heat slightly and simmer 10–11 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
10. 21
    Transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water for 5–10 minutes, and peel from the wide end.

    Ice bath

    💡Cold water right after cooking stops the cooking and separates the membrane from the white: peeling is easy, and the yolk doesn't turn gray.
11. 22
    Serve with the tomato paste and the hard-boiled egg.