This is a great way of preserving tomatoes. when there is a glut of them in summertime. It’s very simple to do. Using a sun oven means that you not only speed up the process, but you protect the tomatoes from flies. The traditional method is just to leave them in the Sun. Sun-dried tomatoes are expensive to purchase and so this is a very economical recipe.
Ingredients
- tomatoes, cut into slices. If using cherry tomatoes, then just cut them in half
- Very good quality Olive Oil.
- Salt.
- Basil leaves – fresh
- garlic
- you can also add capers
- you can also add chopped parsley
- you can even add chopped chilli
- sterile jars and lids (just place in boiling water for 20 minutes in a large vessel)
Method
wash the tomatoes and cut them in half if they are cherry, slices if they are larger tomatoes.
Place on a tray containing a piece of greaseproof baking paper so that they don’t stick. Sprinkle with some salt – this also helps the tomatoes to dry out more quickly as it helps to release the juice.
Placed them in the Sun oven. Do not shut the door completely all they will cook – you are just trying to dry them out. I just leave the door resting on the catch.
Leave them as long as it takes – checking every few hours and occasionally moving them around. This process can take a couple of days or longer. Bring them in at night and put them in the fridge.
Once the tomatoes are completely dried out – soak them in some white vinegar for about half an hour to remove the salt.
After half an hour, drain the tomatoes to get rid of most of the vinegar
Then place in the jars layering them with the fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped garlic, and capers, etc if you are using them. Then cover with olive oil. Try and get rid of any air bubbles using a fork or small spatula.
Keep them for about a month before you eat them, so all of the flavours infuse. They should keep in the fridge for a fewmonths. Delicious with goats cheese.
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