It was one of those visit to the Indian Stores when I found Vine Tomatoes dearth cheap.. Oh yes !! I really mean it ..
It was about 69 pence a kilo as against the 2£ from our regular super stores.. I enjoy hand picking them when still on Vine , rather than the large red tomatoes on its own. Have I mentioned before ? Vine Tomatoes are one of my favourite subject for still life.. I can click any number of times we buy them, still find it fascinating. And Garlic too…
I had bought a couple of kilo’s from the market and my plans to utilise them were ready. Sun dried tomatoes have been on my mind for a while but with the weather like UK, I actually gave up. It was that week, when the chef friend visited us and was telling me about making some Oven dried tomatoes that is made in routine in their hotel. When we were having a detailed chat about food and recipes , he scribbled a quick combination of ingredients to make them So Oven dried it is !!!
What happens when you Oven Dry the Tomatoes or Sun dry the Tomatoes ? The ripe tomatoes lose majority of their water content after spending time drying under the sun or in the oven. The Vine tomatoes lose aproximately 93 % of the water content while the cherry tomatoes can lose unto 88%. ( Information source : Wikipedia)
These dried tomatoes taste heaven in pita sandwiches, panini’s and even while smorging too.
INGREDIENTS:
2 Kilo’s of Vine Tomatoes, firm
1/2 cup olive oil
2- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper
Salt
Enough Olive oil
Italian Seasoning to add into the oil while storing ( optional)
Yields approximately 380 g Oven dried tomatoes.
DIRECTIONS:
I tried them in two ways.
First Method:
Preheat the oven to the lowest setting in your oven. My oven has the lowest temp at 110 C. Firstly arranged a parchment paper on the baking tin. I just chopped the Vine tomatoes into wedges, arranged them in line .Sprinkle some salt and pepper . Place a few pieces of finely chopped garlic pieces and then generously drizzle some olive oil on them. Bake for 3-3.5 hours , until the desired level of dryness is achieved. Cool them completely and transfer in to clean jar. Fill the jar with olive oil until the dried tomatoes are completely submerged.
Keep the jar refrigerated. Tomatoes will last approximately for 2 – 2.5 weeks.
Second Method:
Chop the Vine tomatoes into wedges and de seed them. Sprinkle some salt and set it aside for about 30 minutes. Since a good amount of juice from the tomato comes off, the time taken to dry will be quicker than the previous method. Now arrange the tomato wedges on the parchment paper in a baking tin. Sprinkle some pepper and drizzle generously good amount of olive oil. Arrange some pieces of garlic on the tomato wedges. Bake them for about 2- 3 hours until the desired level of dryness is achieved. Cool them completely and transfer in to clean jar. Fill the jar with olive oil until the dried tomatoes are completely submerged.
Keep the jar refrigerated. Tomatoes will last approximately for 2 – 2.5 weeks.
NOTES:
Seasoning added to your tomatoes and oil is entirely personal choice. Some people enjoy Basil. Italian seasonings and oregano. Some people do not enjoy garlic in their food, in that case kindly omit them .
Gorgeous pictures dear…… This seems to be very easy way to dry up tomatoes….n a boon to me as sun shows its face only one a few lucky days …….. 🙂
This sounds so flavorful… amazing pics as usual… love that sandwich shot…
Thanks for sharing the method…it sounds super easy…And oh my …what gorgeous pics….left me tempting
Beautiful pictures.. Making sun dried tomatoes at home seems so easy, should try this summer..
amazing clicks of an amazing recipe….
I too planned to make some sun dried tomatoes this summer, but the weather was not reliable. If you can get the same results when dehydrated in the oven, then why not. Will try it soon 🙂