Now before every class I test alot of different recipes so that in addition to my old favorites I can expand my recipes to include some new favorites. Monday's class was preserving tomatoes.
Usually I can and freeze tomatoes, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce or salsa. And I did cover canning and freezing tomatoes. But since Sun-dried tomatoes are gaining so much popularity and are so expensive...I thought I'd give them a try. A new favorite. So easy and so wonderful!
Now just because they say they're "sun-dried" doesn't mean they really are...I dehydrated my in a food dehydrator. Roma tomatoes are the best because they are so meaty and less juicy. I actually tried several varieties of vine-ripened in Utah tomatoes...So much better than the store bought variety and a rarity here in Vegas.
I sliced them these into 1/2 inch slice and laid them out on the dehydrator trays. You can remove the seed (the seed can be bitter) but I didn't. I keep my dehydrator out on the patio so with the combination of the dehydrator and 105° temperatures my tomato slices dried in approximately 8 hour. The dried tomatoes should be dry but pliable not crisp . These I store in air-tight containers in a cool dark cupboard. If you are storing them for longer then 3 months, store them in the freezer.
To duplicate the Sun-dried Tomatoes in olive oil, I soak the tomatoes for about 3-5 minutes in distilled white vinegar. This works as an additional preservative and add a wonderful subtle zing. Next I pack them into a small jar with a couple cloves of garlic and a sprig of fresh basil and covered with olive oil. They are so good! Store these in the refridgerator. Only do what you will use within the month and then make a fresh batch from your dehydrated tomatoes.
