Ben’s better half is a gardener and cook in her own right. This is her first post on the blog. Thanks and welcome to Moosey.
She writes:
Ever have the problem of too many tomatoes? Sick of Bruschetta but don’t want to let your hard grown fruit go to waste? “sun drying” tomatoes is a great way of storing excess fruit for a later date.
Steps:
Firstly, collect as many tomatoes as possible. We don’t let any, including fallen ones, go to waste. Of course, any with rot, disease or pest should go into the compost. For this recipe, the riper the tomatoes the better.
Wash tomatoes in a light vinegar solution to get rid of any nasties, and then let them dry. Larger tomatoes are sliced or halved, and smaller and cherry tomatoes just slit to allow the juice to escape. You may also wish to core larger tomatoes.
Gently squeeze the majority of the juice and seeds out. This is to help the drying process, and will speed it up. Once done, lay your tomatoes out in your dehydrator, sprinkle with salt and turn leave until they are nice and dry. Ours took ~36 hours because there was quite a few (and we forgot about them). Dried tomatoes will be reduced in size, shrivelled and leathery, but not tacky
Sterilise a jar (or jars) by boiling in water, and once dry fill tightly with your tomatoes. Now, add some flavour. I suggest garlic, thyme, oregano (all home grown of course) but really it’s up to you. Cover with a good olive oil, and pop into the fridge. Leave for a while, and enjoy on your next home made pizza, or as a snack during the day.
Kate Moosey
Related Links:
Please consider subscribing to get a weekly email summary of our posts.