Cooking -Tomatoes Ripe and Juicy - Save the Taste of Summer

I remember when sun-dried tomatoes first hit the shelves here and they became the 'in' addition to dishes - so chic and definitely "gourmet". Funny thing, they didn't taste anything like the sun-dried tomatoes I'd had in Italy. These newcomers were rubbery, dry and well, somewhat flavorless. Why was everyone raving? Then one day I was in San Francisco and popped into a little Italian cafe for lunch. The waiter placed a couple of dishes on the table along with a loaf of crusty bread an olive oil. One of the dishes held sun-dried tomatoes that were sublime - moist, tender and oozing flavor. I told the waiter they were wonderful. The owner appeared at my table and sat down. "My mother makes them" he said. "In Italy" I asked, "No, Eureka". We laughed. "But not with the sunshine, you have to have Italian sun to make them sing". I don't remember the name of the cafe but I do remember his mother's recipe and whenever I get lucky with a bountiful basket of sun ripened tomatoes, I re-live that taste and make "oven-dried tomatoes".

Oven Dried Tomatoes

To make this worth the effort use around 5 lbs of sun-ripened , field or home grown tomatoes. Your end product will only be as good as the tomatoes you start with. Mix and match varieties if you like but keep like-sized ones on the same tray. My last batch I used a mixture of Campari and Roma.

You'll need two cookie sheets, olive oil, fresh thyme, Maldon sea salt, coarse ground black pepper, four 8 oz canning jars or plastic containers with snap on lids.

Wash and dry tomatoes. Slice them horizontally and place skin side down on a cookie tray , 2 plus pounds of tomatoes per tray. Drizzle around 3/4 Cup ( oil, salt, pepper & thyme amounts for each tray) of good quality olive oil over the tomatoes . Grind a generous amount of coarse black pepper over he tomatoes followed by around 1/2 tablespoon of Maldon sea salt. (OK, I'm a salt snob! - regular salt simply won't work - sea salt has a wonderful flavor and is not what we recognize as "salty". Maldon happens to be my favorite - it comes in lovely, irregular sized flakes and has an incredible flavor. I buy mine at Williams Sonoma; it's also available on line from high end grocery stores - try it, you'll never go back to salt in a blue cylinder again!)

Ideally you have a herb pot outside the kitchen door but if not pick up a pack of fresh thyme from your supermarket veggie section - I prefer to use lemon thyme in this recipe but regular will work, dried thyme just doesn't do it. Remember , you are packing tastes of fresh and Summer into a jar in this recipe. Run your fingers down against the growth pattern of the leaves on the sprigs of thyme to release the leaves over the tomatoes, toss the stems and any remaining sprigs onto the tray. Very gently use your hands to move the tomatoes around making sure all are seasoned.

Put the trays in the oven. Set the oven to 200F and walk away. Leave for 10 hours! I usually leave this overnight. If using very small tomatoes 8 hours will be long enough.

You can let the tomatoes cool or pack them hot. Scoop tomatoes into jars, poke in a sprig of fresh thyme (washed and dried). Once jars are filled pour off oil from the baking trays to cover the tomatoes in the jars. Seal and refrigerate. Save some tomatoes - about a cup full for a bonus - tomato paste like you've never tasted before! Use a blender or hand held mini blender - mine is made by Oster. Put in the tomatoes and a little of the oil - puree to paste consistancy. Store in a small jar or ramekin. Another bonus is to pour off a little of the oil to use for cooking - the flavor is great.

OK so you've done all of the above. What to do with your bounty.

For the paste
Spread on sandwhich bread instead of mayo
Use as a dip with fresh veggies
Stir a little into scrambled eggs
Spread on bruschetta
Use as a 'ketchup' with tiny boiled new potatoes
And for out right hedonistic luxury - spread a thin layer on pizza dough, top with fresh mozzarella and basil for a sumptuous pizza.

For the preserved tomatoes
Use in any recipe that calls for sun-dried tomatoes
Chop into salads
Add to an omelette
Top a bruschetta
Top a pizza
Top a piece of grilled white fish
Serve in a small bowl with crusty bread as a cocktail nibbly
Chop and add to an egg salad sandwich

Now I'm hungry! Bon appetit.
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