La Chinata tomato and olive cream is one of those Mediterranean preparations that look simple on paper — tomato, olive, olive oil — but hide careful work on proportions and slow cooking. The result is a dark red cream, lightly sweet from the tomato, balanced by the noble bitterness of the green olive, with a subtle smoky base from pimentón de la Vera. Three textures meet: the flesh of the tomato, the pulp of the olive, the cold-pressed oil. It is the spirit of southern Spain concentrated in a jar.

This cream is the work of the house of La Chinata, in Plasencia (Cáceres), Extremadura. The same house that makes the green olive cream. The know-how is local: Manzanilla Cacereña olives, a variety native to the north of the province of Cáceres, picked by hand.

The aromatic profile

Three main notes follow one another on tasting:

  1. The tomato attack. Sweet, round, almost jammy — this is the top note. The tomato is cooked for a long time over a low heat, which caramelises its natural sugars.
  2. The olive middle. Green, slightly bitter, with a vegetal freshness — the Manzanilla Cacereña olive gives length on the palate.
  3. The smoky finish. Sweet pimentón de la Vera adds a final note of dry wood and oak fire. Discreet but lasting.
The chef's corner · Hector speaks to you
The use few people know

The great secret of this cream: it is a better stand-in for tomato passata in a sauce for pasta or rice. One tablespoon in a pan with a little cooking water, and in two minutes you have a Mediterranean sauce for 250 g of pasta. Quicker than a passata, more fragrant, more body. It has become one of my evening shortcuts. Linguine al dente, two spoonfuls of cream, parmesan, flaky salt — four minutes of preparation in all. Unbeatable for time versus result.

Five essential uses

  • On a bruschetta. Toasted bread rubbed with garlic, two spoonfuls of cream, flaky salt, fresh basil. That is all.
  • As a base for homemade pizza. A thin layer instead of a classic tomato sauce. Half as runny, twice as fragrant.
  • In a cold sandwich. Country bread, tomato cream, Iberian ham, manchego, rocket. No mayonnaise needed.
  • With baked fish. One spoonful per fillet, straight out of the oven, as you would add a sauce vierge.
  • As an aperitif spread. The open jar on the table, crispbreads or crackers alongside. The simple touch that lifts an improvised aperitif.

Signature recipe: penne with express sofrito

  1. Cook 250 g of penne al dente. Do not overcook — the sauce will finish them.
  2. In a wide frying pan, two tablespoons of tomato and olive cream, a ladle of the pasta cooking water (set aside), half a teaspoon of La Chinata sweet pimentón.
  3. Drain the pasta and toss it into the pan. Stir vigorously over a high heat for thirty seconds, until the sauce coats the pasta.
  4. To serve: pasta in the centre, finely grated parmesan, fresh basil, flaky salt, two drops of extra virgin olive oil. Serve at once.
3
Notes: tomato, olive, smoke
220 g
Jar — about 15 servings
3 months
Keeps after opening, chilled

Storage

Once opened, the cream keeps for three months in the fridge. Cover the surface with a thin film of extra virgin olive oil — this is what prevents oxidation. Take it out thirty minutes before use: the cream firms up in the cold and becomes spreadable again at room temperature.

The chef's corner · Hector speaks to you
My Sunday set

Both La Chinata creams come out of the fridge on Sunday at lunchtime: the green one (pure olive) and the red one (tomato and olive). Two jars, two colours, two profiles. Alongside: country bread, Iberian ham, Manchego cheese, a glass of red from Ribera del Duero. Guests spread it as they like. Five minutes of setting up, two hours of pleasure. That is the whole spirit of the Spanish aperitif — few elements, but well chosen.

What to remember

La Chinata tomato and olive cream is a versatile condiment that is a better stand-in for tomato passata in everyday cooking. Gentle notes, balanced by the olive and the smoked pimentón. Ideal for saving time in the kitchen while gaining in flavour. A product you keep in the fridge at all times and use almost every day.

It comes in a 220 g jar. The rest of the La Chinata range is in our La Chinata section. Delivery in Switzerland in 3 to 7 working days, free returns within 14 days.