This month’s Recipe Redux theme is “Get Your Dehydrator On” to show how you can preserve the season’s best produce for later. I don’t own a dehydrator, but a low, slow oven as well as time can turn out the same results. We are at the end of tomato season, so it is the perfect time to make sun-dried, or in this case, oven dried tomatoes. I love sun-dried tomatoes – they are packed with flavor and are a great addition to any number of dishes such as salads, pastas, pizza, and sandwiches for starters.
Drying tomatoes intensifies their natural sweetness. They are a great source of fiber, potassium, vitamin C and iron as well as other beneficial nutrients. They add flavor with a nutritional punch to any dish. And you’ll find that making your own is not only easy but even tastier than the store bought ones, at least in my opinion.
You can use any type of tomatoes for oven drying, though larger tomatoes generally take longer to dry in the oven. Slicing them smaller helps decrease the cooking time. I chose grape tomatoes because of the size and their natural intense flavor, which only improves with oven drying.
- 1 pound grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
- Combine tomatoes, olive oil and seasonings in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Spread in one layer on a rack fitted on a baking sheet. (If you do not have a rack, then spread on parchment paper on a baking sheet and turn over half way through baking.)
- Bake tomatoes for 2½ to 3 hours until dried out with just a little bit of moisture left. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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