Drying Tomatoes to Enjoy Year Round

Last summer I ended up with literally hundreds of pounds of tomatoes.  It was awesome!  I learned all sorts of new ways to preserve them for use year-round, but one of my favorites is the oven roast them and preserve in olive oil. I use these tomatoes in pasta, on pizza, or to make a delish sundried tomato pesto. If you have seen the price of good pre-packaged sundried tomatoes, you will quickly realize that its much about the same price as making your own, but these are much better. Also, make sure to use the oil in addition to the tomatoes, it will have a delicious herby/tomato flavor after a few days, and make a really delicious bread dip.

Olive Oil & Herb Tomatoes

Tomatoes (tend to use smaller-medium size tomatoes such as Romas, Plums, Zebras, etc.)
Fresh Oregano
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Thyme
Garlic
Salt & Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut tomatoes into ¼ inch-thick slices and lay in a single layer on cookie sheet. Next sprinkle tomatoes with the oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic and salt & pepper, don’t be shy with the herbs! 

Bake until tomatoes are dried through, and almost crisp on the edge, about 3-4 hours. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Next layer tomatoes into a clean container and then pour enough olive oil to just cover top layer of tomatoes, seal tightly and store in refrigerator for up to one month.

You can also can them by putting them in your pressure cooker to make a solid seal on the jar and be able to use year round, or freeze them in smaller freezer bags.