Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Take those extra tomatoes from your garden and dry them in the oven. It is easy to do but will take some time, so plan ahead. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. (100 degrees C.; gas mark 1), or the lowest setting possible. Remove the oven racks.

Trim and discard the stem ends of the tomatoes. Halve each tomato lengthwise. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, side by side and crosswise on cake racks set on the oven racks. Do not allow the tomatoes to touch one another. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Place in the oven and bake until the tomatoes are shriveled and feel dry, anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. Check the tomatoes from time to time: They should remain rather flexible, not at all brittle. Once dried, remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to thoroughly cool on cake racks. (Smaller tomatoes will dry more quickly than larger ones. Remove each tomato from the oven as it is dried.)

Transfer the tomatoes to zipper-lock bags. The tomatoes will last indefinitely.

Yield: 2 cups (500 ml)

Recipe Source: Patricia Wells' Trattoria by Patricia Wells (William Morrow)
Reprinted with permission.