Oven Dried Tomatoes

Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes (any color, any size, including cherries)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt

Preparation

Set the oven at 250 degrees.

Leave cherry tomatoes whole. Halve or quarter regular tomatoes. Put tomatoes of equal size in each baking dish. Roll the tomatoes in oil and salt and put them in a baking dish—just one layer. Bake for 3–8 hours and remove when they are ready. After 3 hours, smaller tomatoes are ready for a mozzarella sandwich. After 8 hours they are leathery and intensely flavored.

Packed in oil, they keep for a week to 10 days in the refrigerator or a cool pantry.

Add to minestrone soup, bean soups, salads. They are good in sandwiches spread with soft cheese, or on pasta, pizza, crostini, or bruschetta. When cherry tomatoes are still juicy and hot, toss them with pasta, olive oil, and basil. The longer the tomatoes sit in the oil, the tastier they get. Strained, the reddish oil is wonderful on bread and salads.

You could blend one or two tomatoes with their oil for a more intense flavor, or you could add a clove of garlic or an anchovy for every 3 tablespoons of oil.

Source: Adapted from Nina Planck's The Farmers' Market Cookbook

From: In the Bag: August 10-12, 2004