Thursday, September 23, 2010

Oven-dried Tomato "Candy"


Before . . . .

Of course, it’s not really candy, but my oven-dried tomatoes sure tasted sweet! It was my last batch of Roma tomatoes and, frankly, I was tomatoed out, but didn’t want to waste them; so, after reading a couple blog posts (The Teenage Gourmet and Foy Update) I decided to give it a go. I read a couple more articles on the Internet and melded all that I learned together, turned on the oven and started slicing.

I sliced the tomatoes thinly and placed them evenly on a parchment-lined rimmed cookie sheet. A little (very little, like a drop per slice) of extra virgin olive oil and a sparse sprinkling of kosher salt and my “candy-making” had begun.

The pan went into a 250 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 4 hours before I checked them. A peek -- and taste -- revealed that some of the slices were done, so I removed the crinkled ones; some went directly to my mouth. One of the crispier ones tasted just like I’d imagine a tomato chip to taste like, sweet, salty, just the right crunchy. The pan went back to the oven for another 2 hours and then I turned the oven off and let the tomatoes sit in the cooling oven overnight.

 . . . .and after
In the morning, I put the tomatoes into pint jars, covered them with olive oil and added a couple sprigs of fresh thyme. Pretty as a picture.



6 comments:

  1. My sister in law is going to try a tomato leather this year. Your tomatoes do look like candy. Do you refrigerate them?

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  2. oh i love your version of candy, super recipe..yum

    sweetlife

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  3. Yes, Diana . . . they're sitting pretty in a jar of oil in the fridge! (Except for a snack or two!)

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  4. Delicious! Isn't it amazing all the "treats" that nature provides for us? This looks like a wonderful way to hold onto the summer's bounty. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

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  5. i cant agree more... they are pretty as a picture:) thank for sharing.

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  6. Pretty as a picture indeed. What a wonderful way to end the tomato season. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.

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