Dried tomatoes: recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Dried tomatoes are very popular all over the world. At the same time, each country has its own, unique secret of using this dish. The recipe for sun-dried tomatoes is not familiar to every housewife, but the idea itself is very attractive. In winter, a dried vegetable will allow you to diversify your diet, quickly prepare a salad or an original stew. It is also suitable for sandwiches, you just need to pre-soak in water.

Origin

It's hard to find a country where tomatoes are loved as much as in Italy. They are used to make sauces and pizza. The hot climate allowed for a long time to make such a simple preparation as sun-dried tomatoes. The recipes that we will now consider are adapted to the modern city dweller, which will greatly simplify the task of the hostess.

Before using tomatoes, you must first soak them in hot water. This is necessary in order to make them tender. If for the first time tomatoes began to be harvested in this way in Italy, then in Greece and Turkey, today the whole world has picked up the baton. Even inSiberian housewives are trying to cook this product on their own.

Features & Benefits

Dried tomatoes are always at hand, they do not take up much space and can be perfectly stored without refrigeration. This is an indisputable advantage, especially considering that juicy tomatoes do not tolerate maturation. And in Italian cuisine, you can’t do without them. So that in winter you have the opportunity to enjoy the rich taste and aroma, today we are considering a recipe for sun-dried tomatoes.

For storage, a clean jar is taken, where dried vegetables are neatly folded. After that, add a little olive oil to them and close with a tight lid. Now you can enjoy he althy and tasty tomatoes at any time of the year.

Taste

Those who are trying to implement this recipe for the first time should be prepared for some surprise. Sun-dried tomatoes are something unimaginable at first glance. Inconspicuous slices keep the taste of summer. No, that's not quite the right definition. During the drying process, vegetables acquire new, unexpected flavors.

In Italy they are cured under the scorching sun, but at home an ordinary oven will do just fine. Ready slices are perfectly stored for at least a year. They can be added to salads, sauces, sandwiches. You can simply eat it as a delicious snack, drizzling with olive oil.

A bit of history

Start with an Italian sun-dried tomato recipe. They first appeared in Europe, and then in Russia in the 19th century. Over time, the first factories were opened, which supplied tomatoes in oil and with spices for sale. At first, the Italians dried juicy fruits by hand. To do this, the tomatoes were thoroughly washed and cut, the pulp was cleaned. After that, they were laid out on the roof until completely dry. This was done in hot and clear weather. At the same time seasonings and spices were not used. But only in order to save the tomatoes for the winter. A little later, they began to add spices, and the snack became even more popular.

Today, dried tomatoes in Italy are practically not used as an independent dish. But in America, and then in Russia, they gained fantastic popularity. Today it is a rather expensive delicacy for true gourmets.

Useful properties

Spicy taste is only one side of the coin. Tomatoes are not just a delicious snack, but also the he althiest vegetables. They are medium calorie foods. That is, even after dehydration, they will not harm the figure. Tomatoes can be consumed in moderation and subject to a dietary diet. They are an excellent choice for people suffering from a lack of vitamins and minerals in the body. They contain a large amount of coarse fiber, which improves intestinal motility.

This is an excellent antidepressant that improves the functioning of the nervous system. Due to serotonin, they can compete with chocolate. This product is the prevention of vision problems.

Preparation of tomatoes

You will need ripe tomatoes,fleshy and dense. S alting, greenhouse varieties are best suited. Grown in the garden, juicy and tender, salad tomatoes are very difficult to dry. Choose fruits with a smooth and clean, undamaged surface, not rotten or overripe.

Green vegetables don't work either. They just don't taste good. Drying is often perceived as the disposal of low-quality goods. But to get really high-quality sun-dried tomatoes, you need to take the right raw materials.

Yellow, pink fruits most often go to salads. For drying, bright red fruits are used. The consumption is large, since a small handful will come out of one kilogram. You can prepare tomatoes for drying as follows: they need to be washed, cleaned of seeds, partitions and stalk. After that, it remains to cut and clean from the insides.

Marinade at home

The recipe for sun-dried tomatoes in the modern sense involves the use of spices. Thanks to this, they turn out so bright that they will decorate any dish. All the classic herbs of Italian cuisine are suitable for this. Other than that, use whatever you like except the traditional black pepper and chili. It is not recommended to add suneli hops, cardamom and celery, cumin, ginger and barberry. It is best to crush them immediately before use. In this case, the fragrance will be more intense and interesting.

What else needs to be mentioned while studying the recipe? Sun-dried tomatoes at home are not quite the same as canned ones, fromsupermarket. This is understandable, production processes and technology have long been worked out there. To make the taste similar to the original, it is best to use coarse s alt. Its crystals will not pass through the skin and will not overs alt the vegetable. And if the skin bursts, then the s alt will create a protective film. However, you have to be careful with her. Overs alting tomatoes means completely depriving them of that piquant note that most admirers like so much. Sourness and sweetness are the visiting card of sun-dried tomato.

Sun drying

This is the easiest recipe ever. Sun-dried tomatoes at home can be prepared in the garden or on the balcony. But it will take quite a lot of time. The first step is to prepare a special frame covered with mesh or gauze. This is important to keep insects from spoiling your vegetables. Now cover the frame with paper and tightly lay the slices on it. It will take 4 to 10 days for them to dry enough to be stored. Be sure to add s alt to avoid spoiling the product.

Follow the cooking process. From time to time you need to turn the slices, check their condition. If the frames are outdoors, the movement of air will help dry them out, but in this case, you need to bring them indoors every evening so that the morning moisture does not increase the drying time.

There is a recommendation from experienced housewives. The first day or two tomatoes can be dried outdoors. Then place the frame in the oven and heat well. After that, you can continue cooking in the usual way. This will not only speed up the cooking process, butand give the tomatoes a special flavor.

If the weather failed

This can also be encountered. Tomatoes were cut, and the weather deteriorated sharply. Without the sun, they will become covered with mold and deteriorate. Therefore, resourceful housewives decided to cook them by analogy with plums, in the oven. The recipe for sun-dried tomatoes is not very original. It is necessary to cut the tomatoes and put them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with spices.

Now we send the baking sheet to the oven. Do not be too zealous with the temperature. It is enough to set 80 degrees or even slightly open the oven lid. Cooking time - about 8 hours. Next, focus on the appearance of your tomatoes. If the temperature is higher, the cooking process is faster. But in this case, there is a danger of baking or overdrying the slices. That is, the longer the cooking process, the higher the quality. Dried tomatoes in the oven are tasty and he althy. The photo recipe is reassuring. The slices come out quite pretty, which is important for making pizza or sandwiches.

Tomatoes with butter

At home, in Italy, such an appetizer is familiar and even somewhat banal. But we serve it as a delicacy. At the same time, you can cook sun-dried tomatoes in oil at home. The recipe is based on the same principles as the previous ones.

Tomatoes need to be prepared and cut in the same way. The result is an excellent addition to sandwiches and pizza.

Make a small batch for the first time. If you don't like it, it won't besorry for the products and wasted time. Take 500 g of small tomatoes, garlic and herbs. You will also need your favorite spices. Traditionally, Italian herbs are taken here.

1. Prepared vegetables must be dried. Do not just blot with a towel, but repeat this procedure several times so that there is no excess juice left on the vegetables. While you're doing this, turn on the oven to 80 degrees to preheat. Be sure to cover the baking sheet with parchment.
2. Place the tomatoes firmly and brush lightly with oil. Feel free to add herbs and garlic, s alt and spices. Some prefer to leave it until the tomatoes are done. But then they will have practically no effect on the taste of the product. It will take about 6 hours for the slices to wilt.
3. Open the oven and wait until it cools completely.
4. Put sun-dried tomatoes in a jar. Top with oil until vegetables are completely covered.

This is a great winter recipe. Sun-dried tomatoes are quite soft, not at all the same as dried in the sun. Therefore, they do not require pre-soaking. You can just take it out of the jar and eat.

A few words about storage

Please note that the times indicated in the recipes are indicative. You need to determine the readiness by the appearance of the tomato slices. If they are wrinkled and have acquired a dark red tint, then the moisture has evaporated from them, you can remove them from the sheet. If cooking in the oven, wait until it cools down completely.

Now mainthe task is to save the vegetables for the winter. Recipes for sun-dried tomatoes with photos clearly demonstrate that they can be stored for quite a long time prepared in this way. But practice says otherwise. The bottle runs out pretty quickly. Cooked tomatoes are traditionally put in a clean container and poured with olive oil. But you can do it even easier. Place the dried product in a clean container and close tightly. Stored in a dry and cool place for a long time.

Instead of a conclusion

Dried tomatoes are a versatile convenience food that can be a great addition to sandwiches, pizza, sauces and snacks. It is not too difficult to cook them at home. However, many in their reviews note that if you do not have your own tomatoes in large quantities, then it is better to abandon this idea. Buying 10 kg of tomatoes, you will get 150 g at best. The cost of such a preparation is high, no matter what recipe for sun-dried tomatoes is chosen.