Ah, sun-dried tomatoes. Tangy, umami-full, intense bitelets of summer. (I kind of doubt that anyone will ever find this post by googling “umami-full” or “bitelets,” but those just happen to be necessary descriptors.) Is there anyone who doesn’t swoon at a jar of sun-dried tomatoes?
Well, as nice as it is to open a jar of Trader Joe’s sun-dried tomatoes, or even an expensive jar you picked up at some specialty store, it is even better when you’re opening a jar of homemade sun-dried tomatoes.
And you don’t even need the sun.
Here’s how I make mine:
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
- about 3 lbs of Roma tomatoes (also known as “paste” tomatoes)
- coarse or Kosher salt
- balsamic vinegar
Begin by cutting the Romas in half and then cutting out the core and removing all the seeds and liquidy pulp that you can. Place these on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a little of the coarse salt.
Drizzle about 1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar in each.
Pop the tomatoes in the oven and bake for 2 hours @ 225. Turn them over, bake for another hour. Turn them again and, if still mushy, bake for another hour. Stop baking when they reach a chewy consistency.
To store, place in a jar with fresh basil and garlic cloves. Cover with olive oil.
These should keep for six weeks in the fridge. Hahahaha! Oh, I make myself laugh. Who are we kidding? These will be gone long before that … maybe by midnight.
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