Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes

Melissa Petersen of Edible Memphis gave me this idea when I was overrun with buckets of little tomatoes. She suggested I either dry them in the oven or buy an Excalibur dehydrator. I suppose I'm not pure of heart because I immediately chose the oven method. With a freezer packed with tomato sauce, salsa, and tomato jam, we still had two gallons of tomatoes left, so this will preserve them a bit longer. 


Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes

Cut 2 gallons (or however many you have) of cherry tomatoes in half. Use a good pair of kitchen shears to cut the tomatoes; it's much faster that way. Lay the halves cut-side-up in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheets, sprinkle with  a little sea salt, and put them in a 175 degree convection oven for about 12-15 hours. (Smash them gently with a 

spatula halfway through the process in order to release any juice that is stubbornly hiding inside the fruit.) Once they are completely dry, they will feel like raisins. Allow them to cool and then store them in a an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 months or freeze them for up to a year. Do this and you'll have summer tomatoes for a long time to come!

So after you've made them, what can you do with them? Here are some TCV recipes that star dried tomatoes:


Vegetarian Carbonara + Sun-Dried Tomatoes


Smoked Sun-Dried Tomato Tortilla


Tomato Aioli


Italian-Style Eggs


Tomato-Lemon Soup


Triple Tomato Soup


Vegetarian Meatloaf


Smoked Sun-Dried Tomato Salad Dressing