Dried tomatoes

For those of you who actually have delicious homegrown tomatoes (unlike yours truly) and are wondering what to do with them. . .

I used the instructions here, at Nancy Baggett´s blog. Of course it would be much more environmentally friendly to use a solar oven. I couldn´t find paste tomatoes, only the normal kind. And I got a little carried away taking the guts out - I could have left a little more of the flesh.

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Tip: Use a light hand when adding the salt. As the tomatoes dehydrate, the salt concentrates and can easily become overpowering.

Tip: Double the recipe if desired.

6 to 8 3- to 4-inch diameter vine-ripened summer tomatoes
Sea salt for seasoning
Olive oil or corn oil for drizzling and packing

Preheat the oven to 275-degrees F. Wash the tomatoes well; pat dry. Core and slice in half lengthwise. Scrape out and discard seeds from the interior of each half. Lay the tomatoes, cut side up and slightly separated, on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle the tomato halves with salt. Drizzle them lightly with oil.

Place in the middle of the oven. Dry for 5 to 7 hours, or until the tomatoes look shrunken and are the consistency of soft, very moist dried apricots. If the tomatoes appear to be burning at the edges at any point, reduce the oven temperature 25 to 50 degrees F and continue. Larger tomatoes will take longer than the small ones to dry out. Set aside to cool.

Lightly pack the tomatoes in very clean glass jars. If you wish, drizzle a bit of oil over the tomatoes to prevent them from drying out. Keep in mind that olive oil will solidify but corn oil will remain fluid during refrigeration. Close the jars with non-reactive lids. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze up to one year.

6 to 8 tomatoes will yield 2 4 to 6-ounce jars.

Drizzled with some good olive oil and slow roasted for about 6 hours.

Excellent tossed in a salad or with some pasta and fresh grated cheese!