It's best to use plum tomatoes — they're firm, meaty, and small. Make sure to use refined vegetable oil so its smell doesn't overpower the delicate aroma of the tomatoes, spices, and garlic. Sun-dried tomatoes are very popular in Mediterranean cuisine. You can add them to pizza, vegetable salads, or use them on sandwiches. The simplest option is to place sun-dried tomatoes on bread that's been lightly toasted and spread with butter — that's personally my favorite way to enjoy them.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 kg tomatoes (this is exactly how many will fit on a standard baking sheet)
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence (a blend of rosemary, thyme, basil, and others)
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- vegetable oil, neutral (unscented)
- garlic
How to cook sun-dried tomatoes
Wash the tomatoes, cut them in half, and cut out the stem end at the base. Scoop out the seeds along with the liquid.
Sprinkle with herbes de Provence and salt, then brush with vegetable oil. Bake in the oven at 100–120°C (210–250°F) for 3–4 hours. If your oven doesn't have a convection setting, you can leave the oven door very slightly ajar to let the moisture escape as it evaporates.
Check on the tomatoes periodically to make sure they don't dry out completely — they should remain moist and pliable while still getting nicely caramelized. During cooking, the tomatoes will shrink to about one-third to one-quarter of their original size. They may also cook unevenly, so some pieces may need to be removed earlier than others.
You can enjoy some of the tomatoes right away, and turn the rest into a savory marinated appetizer in oil. To do this, layer the sun-dried tomatoes in a jar, alternating with thinly sliced garlic. Pour in neutral vegetable oil and refrigerate to let them infuse. The jar in the photo holds 200 ml — it fit half of the prepared tomatoes and 4 cloves of garlic.
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