You can buy Sun Dried Tomatoes everywhere now but there’s always satisfaction to be gained from making your own. Here in Ireland we don’t get the weather to dry damp tissue paper never mind an entire tray of tomatoes so I’ve cheated and used the oven method. If you have the sun (or a lot of patience) you can leave them to dry naturally.
The type of tomato you use doesn’t really matter, many folk grow their own but I wouldn’t waste them by drying them out. I normally use the regular supermarket ones which are just about tolerable this time of year…any other time of year and supermarket tomatoes are nothing short of woeful but that’s a story for another day.
Method
Quarter the tomatoes and place on a baking tray, sprinkle with sea salt and basil leaves. Place in a barely warm oven (only 100F or so) and leave to dry for three to four hours or until you think they look really dried out, there is no magic time for these, just taste one and see if you like. The salt helps remove the moisture while leaving them really zingy.
I’ve tried storing these in oil but not much success, they tend to go moldy after a few days. See the comments on this for storage tips (thanks to all who contributed).
28/07/2008 at 9:37 am Permalink
I made a batch with grape tomatoes about 2 months ago and put them in a glass canning jar. I covered them completely with olive oil and they haven’t molded yet. I also added some rosemary and thyme into the mix, but I don’t that would have kept it from molding. I have them in one of my cupboards.
06/08/2008 at 12:51 pm Permalink
Dipping the dried tomatoes in vinegar before adding them to the oil has worked for me – I never had them go mouldy. Also, since they are a lot smaller when dried, you can just put them in a plastic bag, and keep them in the freezer – I’ve kept them up to a year there.