Oven Baked “Sundried” Tomatoes
Oven-baked "sundried" tomatoes are made by slow roasting fresh tomatoes in the oven until most of their moisture has been removed. This concentrates the tomato's natural sweetness and flavour, giving them a chewy texture and intense taste similar to sun-dried tomatoes. I promise these are delicious and therefore a must make. The "sundried" tomatoes can be added to many meals, salads, sandwiches, pasta, antipasti boards & more.
METHOD
Cut the tomato into quarters, using a spoon or knife scoop out the centre. Save the centres in the freezer to add to your next batch of stock or pasta sauce.
You can leave the tomato in the quarters or slice into strips (not too thin as they will shrink in size. Medium size strips will cook faster than tomato halves or quarters.
Place the tomatoes onto a nonstick baking tray sprinkle with a little salt. Bake at 125 degrees for 2 – 2.5 hours. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the tomatoes. Checking on them often in the final 30 minutes of cooking. The tomatoes should not brown but should be completely dry and crinkly on the outside.
Add the now dried tomatoes into an airtight container & cover with olive oil. Add dried herbs only to flavour.
You can use dried garlic, dried thyme, rosemary, chilli, oregano, any dry herb which takes your fancy.
When you have used up all the sundried tomatoes, don't throe the oil away! You can use the oil to cook with or use in salad dressings, it will be full of flavour.