Sun / Oven Dried Tomatoes

Image courtesy of myrecipes.com

The one thing i love about the warm climate of the mediterranean region is it produces some wonderful fruit due to the abundance of sun. A pinnacle of which - the sun dried tomato is a staple of alot of meditteranean cuisine in a variety of dishes inclusive of tapas, antipasti etc.

In Britain alas we are not so fortunate. That said there's no means to say we cannot use conventional cooking methods to produce something similar that will satisfy your need for sun dried tomatoes. This simple recipe will produce some good results which you will enjoy time and time again.

These also make great gifts, when presented nicely, so can be made up n advance and passed on to loved ones at a later date.

You will need (makes roughly 36):


18 ripe plum tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes for even sweeter)
sea salt
6 cloves garlic sliced thinly
8 tbsp chopped oregano
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
4 rosemary sprigs
balsamic vinegar

The doing bit:

Preheat oven to 100C (or as low to it as you can get. Even lower than this is better but will take longer). Slice the tomatoes in half and scoop out most of the seeds. Place cavity side down on some kitchen paper for about half an hour.

Place the tomatoes cavity side up on a wire rack, on a roasting tray sprinkle with sea salt and add a slice of garlic to each tomato along with a liberal sprinkling of the oregano and a blade or two of rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil, and add a few drops of balsamic vinegar to each tomato half. Place in oven for about 3-4 hours, or leave out in the sun for several days if possible.

Storage: Place under olive oil in a sealed jar until use. Use in any recipe that requires them.

Slow roast tomato salsa

image courtesy of  26fruits.co.uk

This salsa is a great accompaniment to many dishes, and as a dipping sauce for the more lesuirely occasions, such as when using with nachos and similar "dipping" type dishes. Its very easy to make, and uses a sweet and spicy element to please a number of palates.


You will need:

300g cherry vine tomatoes, vine tomatoes, or plum vine tomatoes.
2 teaspoons jalapeno chillies chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced very thinly.
2 spring onions, chopped finely.
tbsp fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

The doing bit:

First cut the tomatoes in half and place on a baking tray. On each tomato half add 1 slice of garlic and a blade of rosemary, and a few drops of the red wine vinegar and a sprinlking of salt. Place the tomatoes in a warm oven 9/about 170C) for about 40 mins until they begin to shrink and caramelise slightly. remove fromt he oven and allow to cool.

IN a mixing bowl combine remaining ingredients, allowing the tomatoes to break up (dont be shy). Taste the mixture ans season accordingly. For extra sweetness add a tablespoon of honey of maple syrup.

Enjoy.

Classic Italian Tomato Sauce

image courtesy of www.grow-tomato-sauce.com

Surprisingly enough i hadnt gotten around to adding a tomato sauce recipe until now. How i had overlooked such a rudimentary sauce for my online food arsenal is beyond me - but fear not. Here it is.

Tomato sauce is one of those base sauces that has a number of applications from everything to pasta to parmesan and everything in between. You can also use it as a combination ingredients for other things too.

You will need:

3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 Onion, Diced to same proportions as the garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cans chopped Tomatoes or passata (passata will perform better and cook in less time)
glass red wine
1/2 tsp sea salt.
Handful Fresh Basil, Finely Chopped, If dried 1 Tbsp,
Handful Fresh Oregano, Finely Chopped, If dried 1 Tbsp,
2 Tbsp Tomato Puree,

The doing bit

In a pan heat up the olive oil and add the onions and cover the pan until the onions soften. Add the garlic and red wine and allow to cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the salt and allow liquid to reduce to a syrup consistency.

Add the tomatoes and herbs, bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes, Once mixture has simmered add tomato puree and stir in. Simmer for a further 5 mins then remove from heat.

Serve as necessary or cool and store.