RECIPE FOR SUN DRIED TOMATOES (DEHYDRATOR)

RECIPE FOR SUN DRIED TOMATOES (DEHYDRATOR)

This recipe for Sun Dried Tomatoes is a family recipe that my parents have been making for literal decades! They're a true staple, a definite favourite and so much easier to make than you might think!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 10 10

Servings 16 oz. Jars

Ingredients

10 pounds Roma or San Marzano Tomatoes
Garlic chopped, not minced
Dried Oregano
Salt
Oil*
Mason Jars with 2 Piece Separable Lids and Bands

Instructions

Wash, dry, and halve the tomatoes.
OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED STEP: Lay the tomato halves, cut side up, in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Position the oven rack on the bottom and set the oven to verrry low (almost minimum). Cook for 2-3 hours to kickstart the drying process which really helps in shaving off some of time the tomatoes will need in the dehydrator.
Lay the tomatoes out in a single layer in the dehydrator trays being careful not to overcrowd them. This is what they should look like if you did the optional step above.
This is what they're going to look like if you skip that step and pop the tomato halves straight into the dehydrator.
Dehydrate your tomatoes at 140°F for 8 hours to start, rotating the trays if needed. At the 8 hour mark, have a large airtight container or bowl with a tight fitting lid handy. You'll open the dehydrator and pick out the ones that are ready. Ready means dried but still bendy when you press them between your fingers. In general, you don't want them to be moist, squishy or hard at all. Put the 'ready ones' in the bowl. Then, toss them in a splash of oil to keep them coated while waiting for the others. This avoids mould. Keep adding new tomato halves to the dehydrator trays as you take the done ones out. Do this until 0 tomatoes remain and all of your tomatoes have been equally dried. Depending on how large your batch is, your dehydrator, whether or not you used the kickstart method, this could take several hours or even days to complete and you just have to keep checking every so often. Once your bowl has all the sun-dried tomatoes, you're ready to jar.
To the bowl with the lightly oil coated sun-dried tomatoes, add lots of chopped garlic, oregano and salt. You may notice I don't give measurements for these ingredients and that's because my parents measure with their heart when it comes to this recipe and you should, too! We do a lottttttt but go based on your own preference.
Give it a good stir to ensure that everything is well combined.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes to the jars, a couple spoonfuls at a time and cover with olive oil as you go.
Push them down using a pestle, back of a spoon or similar object til they're nice and compact, trying your best to squeeze out all the air.
Add a few more spoonfuls, some more oil and repeat the process until the jar is mostly full. IMPORTANT: Leave a few inches of space at the top of each jar in case the tomatoes expand, leaving room for them to grow. Ensure that all the tomatoes are submerged in/below the oil.
Cut a circle piece of parchment paper out to fit the opening of the jar and loosely place it over top of the oil.
Put the sealing compound (flat metal lid) over the jars and store them in a cool dry place such as a cold cellar or cupboard. Don't completely or tightly seal the jars at this point.
For the next few days, you'll check on your tomatoes to ensure that no oil is overflowing (most of the time, it's not if you've left those few inches). You may have to top the oil up in certain cases to ensure that the tomatoes remain below the oil at all times. 1-2 weeks after everything is going okay and as planned, you may seal the jars with the ring piece. For best results, leave them sealed in a cool dry place for 3-4 weeks before eating (including the 1-2 weeks of checking).

Notes

I like using a good quality extra virgin olive oil for this recipe. HOWEVER, my parents (who are the O.G. creators of this recipe) like using vegetable oil. We understand that doing extra large batches can get quite expensive using only good quality olive oil. With that being said though, keep in mind that you'll have sun dried tomato flavoured oil at the end of it to use in a variety of tasty dishes which is ultimately why I stick to using olive oil.

Always remember to continuously top up the oil and push the remaining tomatoes below the oil after each use. Once the sun-dried tomatoes hit the jar, they must be submerged in the oil at all times to prevent mould and keep bad bacteria away.

Store your jars of sun-dried tomatoes in a cool, dry place such as a cold cellar or cupboard. Opened and in use jars can be kept in the fridge. The oil will solidify and that's completely normal. Just take it out to soften as needed before use.

Nutrition