Tomatoes, what passion and what goodness!

An icon of the Mediterranean diet, the main ingredient of many Italian dishes, the tomato could only be one of our most precious raw materials. We have always processed it to produce many of our delicacies, including our artisanal tomato puree, which has become famous thanks to the awards it has won. But even before that we choose it carefully, selecting only fresh local tomatoes or from producers in neighbouring regions. 

Because it is necessary to start from a good base to achieve excellent results.

The raw material, its properties and processing

The tomato is low in fat and sugar, mainly composed of water and rich in vitamins and salts; it is generally a healthy food, not just a tasty one. Both nutritional and organoleptic properties are found in different ways in the processed end product, depending on the type of tomato and cultivation, but also on the way the raw material is processed.

To preserve and, above all, enhance them, we process the best tomatoes in the traditional way and with the necessary time; our productions, in fact, are not industrial, they do not aim at quantity but at quality. 

Many people know, for example, that we do not use peeling waste for our famous passata; this waste, together with that from other Orominerva processes, is used to fertilise our land. This is one of our formulas for achieving excellence in a sustainable way, with zero waste. These are details that make the difference, like those that characterise the production of tomatoes in oil and our red pesto. 

Sun-dried tomatoes in oil

For the sun-dried tomatoes, we fully respect nature and its timing. After cutting the fresh tomatoes in half, we leave them to dry in the sun and wait until they are ready to be preserved in oil. We follow the traditional recipe for seasoning them, with very few ingredients: a pinch of salt, parsley and oregano, and of course EVO oil. 

The choice of oil for the preparation of tomatoes but also for all other vegetables in oil is crucial. In fact, oil has always been used for this type of preservation as it limits bacterial contamination. However, it also plays an important role in terms of taste. This is why the best possible oil for any pickling in oil is extra virgin olive oil: our sun-dried tomatoes are soaked in Orominerva's 100% Italian, top-quality EVO oil, which, returning to the zero-waste theme, can be consumed together with the tomatoes or reused for cooking.

Our sun-dried tomatoes in oil are different from most commercial ones. They are balanced, very tasty, have a rich, full flavour that fills the mouth and leaves no trace of that sour aftertaste often encountered in this type of pickling. Very much appreciated by all the customers who have tasted them.

The two versions of red pesto

We also used the unique flavour of sun-dried tomatoes to create a second Orominerva speciality, actually two: The Other Red Pesto and The Truffle Red Pesto.

These are two very special pestos. First of all, they are suitable for vegetarians because the cheese used is with vegetable rennet; secondly, they contain no garlic or nuts, gluten, lactose or lysozyme.

For the recipe, we have chosen very exclusive ingredients. First of all Orominerva sun-dried tomatoes, then we add a little of our green pesto and our ever-present extra virgin olive oil.

The truffle version includes the addition of a little black truffle, which gives an extra special touch to the red pesto, ideal for those who prefer a more intense but still delicate and never cloying flavour. 

Tomato passion: the new Orominerva taste trail

We have put together the three goodnesses we have just seen to create a single taste path, in which sun-dried tomatoes play the leading role and express their goodness to a greater or lesser extent. 

It is called Tomato passion and is our proposal for enjoying the special qualities of the dried tomato. It contains one jar of dried tomatoes in oil, one jar of L'altro pesto rosso and one jar of L'altro pesto rosso with black truffle.