Dried tomatoes in a food dehydrator
One autumn I had more tomatoes than I could use, ripening faster than I could process them. I tried drying some in the oven, and we liked them so much that we bought a food dehydrator the next year. Now I make them every autumn for pizzas, salads, stews, sandwiches or an appetizer with white wine.
I do not recommend drying small tomatoes. When they dry, only one skin remains. There is absolutely nothing to eat.
Very large ones should not be dried either: for a long time.
With 3 kg of tomatoes I got a half-liter jar of ready-made ones.
Choose sound, ripe, firm tomatoes and wash them.
If the tomatoes are medium-sized, cut into halves. If large, then into 4 parts. Remove seeds. Place in one row on electric dryer trays.
Each tray holds about a kilogram of tomatoes. I filled 3 trays.
Sprinkle each half generously with Italian (Provençal) herbs and a mixture of salt and sugar. Turn on the dryer at 60-70°C
After about 3 hours, the tomatoes had shrunk and lost moisture. I rotated the trays twice during that time.
About 6 hours passed.
Some halves are already ready. Others are still quite wet.
We remove the finished ones. Let the rest dry for a few more hours.
Pour the oil into a saucepan and place it on the stove. Add a couple of cloves of garlic. Heat the oil. It should be hot, but not smoking. I look at the garlic. Bubbles begin to burst around it, but the slices themselves do not change color yet. Temperature about 170°C/
To the bottom, sterile dry! fill the jars with some Italian herbs and add a few cloves of garlic. Place the tomatoes by pouring hot oil over them. They put some of it down, pressed it down with a fork so that it lay more tightly, and poured in some oil. Again tomatoes, again pressed down and poured with oil. And so on until everyone fits in.
Close the lid. Store in a cool place.