Sun-dried tomatoes

Recipe steps

Tomatoes, preferably ripe but still firm, are cut in half and placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper cut side up. If we have an oven with a convection setting, we dry them at 105 °C, or we can use the top and bottom heating mode and dry them at 120 °C.

Approximately every thirty minutes, we check if the tomatoes are burning or becoming too dry. Sometimes a lot of juice leaks from the tomatoes, which caramelizes, and it is necessary to change the parchment paper to prevent the tomatoes from sticking.

Drying larger and riper tomatoes takes about 4 hours using the convection program, while with top and bottom heating, the time extends to about 7-8 hours. This time is only approximate and may vary depending on the size and ripeness of the tomatoes. The tomatoes are properly dried when they are dry but still soft and not slippery inside. The edges should be nicely curled inward, but they should not be burned. Such tomatoes can then be smoothly removed from the oven.

Once all the tomatoes are dried, we prepare clean and dry jars for storage.

In a pot, we pour oil in an even ratio of 1:1 and add peeled garlic sliced thinly along with herbs. We heat gently until the oil gets warm but must not boil. This process takes about 5 minutes, then we remove the pot from the heat.

We let the oil infusion sit for about five minutes, then we pour it over the tomatoes, which we gradually layer into the prepared jars. We thoroughly wipe the jars and seal them with clean lids.

Before eating, we let the tomatoes rest for at least seven days. We store them in a cool, dark place.