As many of you this time of year I find myself with an abundance of tomatoes harvested from the garden. So many wonderful ways to store them and meals to make. One of my favorite ways to use them is to make super easy and some say a cheat “sun dried” tomatoes.
The great part of this recipe is it is incredibly simple and inexpensive. You only require a few ingredients. Olive oil, salt, garlic, Italian seasoning, and of course the tomatoes! The whole process looks so beautiful and vibrant along the way. I love photography and sometimes food just doesn’t pick up so well on camera, not the case here. I had fun photographing and bringing out the natural beauty of this recipe with the lighting and contrast of elements in my kitchen.
Who knew sliced and seasoned tomatoes could be so pretty?
I wrote this recipe to make one mason jar full. It is packed in oil and will be good for 4 days in the refrigerator. To keep longer you can freeze them in freezer bags for up to 3 months. You can easily double or triple the recipe. Storing in oil is also an option. They can be stored dry as well.
Important note here is you have to let them dry out completely. If they are not quite dry after the 2 1/2 hours let it go a bit long and just keep an eye on them. If you do not squish them down enough or let dry (bake) out they will mold during storing.
Lets get started!
Ingredients:
- 12 ripe roma tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 cup olive oil
Directions:
Heat the oven to 225 degrees.
Slice the tomatoes on a cutting board.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the tomatoes on it.
Season each tomato evenly with the salt and Italian seasoning.
Bake for 2 hours.
After 2 hours pull them and let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile raise the temperature to 300 degrees.
Now very carefully take the bottom of a mason jar and place it on top of the tomatoes. Smoosh it down to flatten and squeeze out the juices. DO THIS VERY CAREFULLY! The tomatoes/juices are very hot. (This is why we let the rest a bit)
Now return them to the oven for 2 and 1/2 hours. Keep an eye on them the last half hour.
After the time is up turn off the oven and let continue to dry out. You can prop open the oven if you ‘d like. I leave them for about 30 minutes.
After the time is up move them to a plate and let them completely cool.
In a mason jar add the garlic. Place the cooled tomatoes next.
You can now store like this or add the oil…
Remember, use in 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.
ENJOY!
