Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Oil

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This Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Oil recipe is the perfect answer for those times when you have a large tomato crop and want to preserve them for later use. Sun-dried tomatoes go great in most pasta dishes, but I especially love them in my Easy Marry Me Chicken recipe and in lasagna.

Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Oil

In July, I went on a two-week vacation to visit my family in Chicago. It's a trip I try to do at least every other year, if not yearly.

Upon my return, I had a large harvest of ripe Roma tomatoes waiting to be picked. It seems that no one else in the family knows how to pick tomatoes.

I pickled some of the green ones and used some of the tomatoes to make tabouli salad, but then I was stumped. Luckily, I remembered mom making Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Oil and decided to give that a try!

Of course, I had no intention of letting all those beautiful tomatoes to go to waste. So today, I pulled out my food dehydrator and made some Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Oil.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. Roma tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic
• olive oil

Recipe Directions

Pick tomatoes, then wash and dry them.

Slice the tomatoes in half. Carefully remove the seeds without removing the pulp in-between the seeds. Arrange the tomatoes on a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle the tomatoes with sea salt, basil, and oregano.

Place the tomatoes on the dehydrator trays, allowing some room between the tomatoes for air circulation.

Follow the temperature and times suggested by your dehydrator. It took my dehydrator eight hours to dehydrate the tomatoes to the right consistency.

Divide the tomatoes between two sterilized jars. Peel the garlic and cut in half, then divide between the jars.

Pour the olive oil over the tomatoes, making sure they are completely submerged. Seal and refrigerate until ready to use.

How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes Without A Dehydrator

First, if you don't have a dehydrator, may I ask why not? It's easily one of my favorite kitchen gadgets!

Dehydrators come in a variety of styles and prices. Besides making sun-dried tomatoes, you can use the dehydrator to make many other things like pineapple chips, jerky, dried herbs, and fruit leather!

But if you don't want to purchase a dehydrator, or don't want to wait until it arrives in the mail, there are other options, just not as cool.

Dehydrator Alternatives

So, you want to make sun-dried tomatoes, but don't own a dehydrator?  No problem, you can simply roast the tomatoes in the oven (200 degrees for 6-8 hours) depending on the size of the tomatoes.

Or you can do as the name suggests, and dry them out in the sun. This is how my mom dried her tomatoes back in Iraq.

Just be sure to cover them with cheesecloth, to keep the flies off. This method will take two to three days until the tomatoes are ready.

Cook's Tips

• Try sprinkling the tomatoes with other herbs that you may prefer, such as rosemary or thyme.
• Be careful not to over-dry the tomatoes. They should still be somewhat pliable.
• For longer storage, be sure to sterilize your jar and vacuum-seal them. You might also consider adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to each jar prior to sealing them. The acid helps to preserve them even further.
• To avoid spoilage for longer storage, don't add the garlic.

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