Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sun-dried Tomatoes

I always love sun-dried tomatoes when I get them on an entree at a restaurant but considered them too expensive to buy. I never knew how easy they are to make yourself! I used 13 tomatoes from my garden and made almost 2 cups of these flavorful bites. I've used them on Mediterranean Hummus Pizza, a toasted sandwich with mozzarella, feta, lettuce, and avocado, and chicken pasta with tomato sauce.
Adapted from a recipe on PickYourOwn.

Servings: ~2 cups
Total time: 30 minutes prep, 8-12 hours to cook

Ingredients:
10-15 tomatoes, any variety but paste tomatoes like Romas work best
Sea salt, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste

Directions:

Wash your tomatoes and cut them into quarters, slicing from the top down. Remove most of the seeds and inner pulp. Place them on a baking rack on the middle oven rack with the inside facing up. They don't drip too much but I still put 2 baking sheets under the racks. Sprinkle them with salt and seasonings.

Turn your oven to 150-200 degrees Fahrenheit. After one hour of baking, place a knife or spatula in the oven door so it is slightly ajar. This helps the moisture evaporate. Bake for another 7-11 hours or until the tomatoes are no longer moist and have shriveled to approximately 1/4 of their original size.

Let them cool for about 30 minutes then place in a ziplock bag. Be sure to remove as much of the air as possible. You can also use a vacuum sealer to give them a longer shelf life.


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