Semi-dried Tomatoes

So this is my test run.  I don’t pretend to be an expert at blogging or photography, so I am just going to try to dive in head first.  I decided for my first blog, I would tell you about the most fantastic oven dried tomatoes ever (I make them semi-dried as I like them a little soft).  I should start by telling you that I am not a fan, in the slightest, of sun-dried tomatoes.  They have a very odd after taste to me that I don’t care for at all.

Luckily, I love tomatoes in general and thought there must be some way to salvage the tomatoes that don’t make it into my selected meal for that particular evening.  That’s when I went out hunting.  After perusing a variety of different recipes, I landed on setting the oven at 250 degrees F, sprinkling on a little salt and pepper, and throwing them in the oven for anywhere from 2-3 hrs (I prefer 2 as it keeps them a little moist still).

Oh!  Don’t forget to clean them first –

Tomatoes taking a quick dip

One pint halved cherry tomatoes getting ready to slide into the oven.

 So, below is a picture of the finished product after 2 hrs in the oven.  They were so delicious I ate them straight and took them as a snack to work the next day.  I could also see them being good on some ciabatta topped with goat cheese and pesto. Yumm!

As a side note – I discovered a new setting on my little Canon Camera which gave me the beautiful detail below.

Voila! Semi-dried tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry tomatoes

Salt and Pepper (the more pepper the more spicy your tomatoes will be!)

Recipe:

1.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

2.  Rinse tomatoes and cut in half from stem to stern. 

3.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange tomatoes so that none overlap. 

4.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper – I like to use the salt and pepper mills for a more potent flavor.

5.  Bake for 2 – 3 hrs or until the tomatoes are dry to your desired level.

6.  Enjoy. 

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