Oven-Dried Tomatoes
I love to have oven-dried tomatoes on hand, especially in the winter when fresh garden tomatoes are unavailable. Oven-dried tomatoes are similar to sundried tomatoes. They are easy to make but take a long time in the oven… hours in fact. You don’t need to stand in the kitchen, just check on them every hour or so. When I oven-dry my tomatoes I like them to be “almost” dry. This way they are ready to use right out of the freezer and will not need rehydrated. Be creative; add them to sandwiches, dips, hot pastas, pasta salads, eggs, potatoes….
Oven-Dried Tomatoes
Well there isn’t much of a recipe, it’s better to explain with pictures. Just follow along and see how easy it is. Preheat oven 250 degrees.
Take a cookie sheet and line it with foil. You definitely want to do this for easy clean up, trust me. Those tomato drippings are a bear to get off and you may never get the stain out. Set a cookie rack on top of the foil lined baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Cut small roma tomatoes in half, and scoop out the seeds with your finger. Place tomato cut side up on rack. Now they are ready for a looooong slooooow cooking process. Place in oven. Check after a couple hours, cooking time depends on the size and thickness of your tomatoes. Anywhere from 4-6 hours. Remove tomatoes as they dry to your desired dryness and continue cooking until all are done. Let cool, place in a freezer bag and freeze until needed.
I have also dried tomatoes in the toaster oven; just do the exact same thing except on a smaller scale. You may have to play with the temperature control. My toaster oven isn’t as accurate as the oven.
I have never tried oven-drying cherry tomatoes, but if you have a ton I think it would work beautifully. Have fun seeding all those little guys.
