Oven-Dried Tomatoes

With my bumper crop of tomatoes this year, I have struggled to come up with things to do. Recently, Laura suggested that I oven dry tomatoes, which is faster than traditional sun drying but still results in concentrated tomato flavor. Oven-dried tomatoes can be added to salad, mixed into your favorite pasta dish, or added to any recipe calling for tomatoes.

For this batch, I used grape tomatoes so the tomatoes would all be about the same size and require the same time to dry out. I am sure that other tomato types would work fine, but larger tomatoes might require more time in the oven. Dried tomatoes can be saved to use later by packing them in oil while stored in the refrigerator or frozen in an airtight bag. If freezing, first freeze the dried tomatoes in a single layer, then transfer into an airtight bag. Packing the tomatoes in oil or freezing allows the tomatoes to last for months.

Oven-Dried Tomatoes 

• fresh tomatoes
• olive oil for roasting and packing

Clean tomatoes. Cut in half. Layer cut tomatoes on a baking sheet coated with olive oil. Roast in the oven at 375 to 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 300 degree and roast for another 60 to 90 minutes. Allow to cool. Pack in a jar with oil or freeze. Enjoy the tomatoes!