Oven dried tomatoes in olive oil
How were your tomatoes this year?
I’ve had better years.
Like the year I harvested 100 pounds, thanks to my neighbor Al, who has a farm stand and gave me his extra starter plants.
And then for my book road trip research, I met countless tomatoes to love.
This year, I got a late start due to the raised beds going in, and the new soil going in. And I was late buying my plants.
And then there was the weather.
You’d have thought that the heat would have given me a bumper crop. But the drought nixed that and I ended up buying a bushel of “canning tomatoes” at the farmers market, saving my backyard tomatoes for noshing.
Buying “seconds,” the less-than-perfect but just-as-flavorful version, is one of my favorite tips for extending the harvest and getting a bargain all at the same time.
One of my fondest flavor memories of my tomato bumper crop a few years back is the oven-dried Sungolds that punctuated my salads, pastas and flatbreads long through the winter. These sliced ones will do nicely.
Here is this year’s version, stacked in freezer-friendly Ball jars and topped with fruity olive oil. I’ll keep them in the door of the freezer and scoop them out when I need a summer fix. And the infused oil will be great for salads.
Oven-dried tomatoes in olive oil
Slice tomatoes and assemble on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with freshly-cracked black pepper. Turn oven on to lowest setting (in my case 170 degrees). Place in the oven for six to eight hours until they are dried yet still flexible. Cool, transfer to freezer-safe container, and top with olive oil. Store in the freezer for up to a year, if they last that long.
Tags: farmersmarkets, oven-driedtomatoes, tomatoes