Cortijo de Sarteneja | Gourmet Tomato Sauces from Spain
Cortijo de Sarteneja is a Spanish family business that produces gourmet tomato sauces in Extremadura according to traditional recipes and using the best regional ingredients. It was founded in 2013 by Antonio Fernández de Molino. The young, empathetic Spaniard had initially completed his architecture studies and moved to London to gain experience far from home. He studied English and also worked as a designer. When he visited his parents for Easter in April of the same year, his father told him about his idea to start producing Salsa de Tomate Frito, a sauce made from fried tomatoes, according to his mother's and grandmother's recipes, and selling it to delicatessens. The family was thrilled, and so father and son, one in Badajoz, Spain, and the other in London, England, developed a design and a taste that became the hallmark of the Cortijo de Sarteneja brand.
Cortijo de Sarteneja | Childhood Memories from Sun-Ripened Tomatoes
Not only the logo with the wooden spoon but also the name Cortijo de Sarteneja, which means "Farmhouse of the Frying Pan," takes us back in thought to Antonio's childhood. His grandparents' farmhouse was located in the middle of the irrigated land in the Las Vegas del Guadiana valley, where the best sun-ripened tomatoes had been grown for decades. It was always the center of family warmth, associated with beautiful moments of comfort and good smells from the kitchen. "In the morning, before the heat came, we would go out to pick some tomatoes that my grandmother would later prepare in many different ways: in soup, in minced meat, with a drizzle of olive oil, or simply fried in the large frying pan as Tomate Frito, my favorite," reports the company founder.
Bringing these childhood memories into the bottle, so that you experience them when enjoying the gourmet tomato sauces, was always the stated goal of the de Molino family. True to the company's philosophy: preserving tradition without sacrificing innovation. In addition to probably the best Tomate Frito sauce on the market, which is made without added sugar from sun-riripened tomatoes, local olive oil, and sea salt from the island of Cristina, we were convinced by the organic tomato ketchup and the organic BBQ salsa (made with cane sugar and apple cider vinegar). Thickeners or colorings are deliberately avoided.
