Dried tomatoes can be found in the menu of many Italian restaurants. They are an integral part of the diet of Mediterranean cuisine. Buying a product from Italy in stores is unprofitable for financial reasons, but you always want to try the taste of excellence of Italian cuisine. Therefore, you need to learn how to cook such a dish yourself. In this article we will talk about how to dry tomatoes at home, what dried tomatoes are eaten with and where to add them.
Sun-dried tomatoes in the oven for the winter
Before you start cooking, you need to choose the right tomatoes. In the market, give preference to southern varieties of red tomatoes, which have a dense and fleshy interior. Experts recommend buying varieties "Grapes" or "Lady's finger." 
Also well suited variety "Cherry", which has a minimum amount of juice.
Kitchen appliances and utensils
To make dried tomatoes in the oven, we need:
- cloth or paper towel;
- grill or baking sheet (covered with parchment);
- kitchen spray or silicone brush;
- glass jars.
You can also pickle tomatoes, cook in your own juice, jam, in a barrel, pickle in a cold way, make a salad with tomatoes, make tomato juice.
Ingredients
One of the most popular recipes for dried tomatoes in the oven for the winter is Provencal dried tomatoes. The name of this dish was due to the addition of Provencal herbs, giving tomatoes an extraordinary aroma and taste. 
To cook Provencal dried tomatoes, you must have the following ingredients:
- tomatoes - 5 kg;
- Provencal herbs (dried, chopped) - thyme, marjoram, basil, rosemary;
- ground black pepper (preferably own grinding for better flavor);
- oil - 0.6 l (preferably olive oil, to preserve the traditions of Italian cuisine, but vegetable oil is also suitable for the first time; 0.5 liters of oil is necessary for preservation, and another 100 grams for curing);
- salt - 2-3 tsp. (add to your own taste);
- fresh basil leaves;
- garlic.
Important! It is better to grind the spices used immediately before use. Otherwise, they will lose a significant part of their flavor.Olive herbs can be combined, add other types of them. Focus on satisfying your own taste buds. If you like spicy dishes, you can add red powder instead of black pepper.
Step-by-step recipe
The process of cooking this savory dish is as follows:
- Tomatoes thoroughly wash and wipe. After that, cut into halves and remove the inside (seeds with juice). If this is not done, an increased vapor separation will be formed, the drying process may be delayed for several hours.
- Put tomatoes in the middle of the prepared grid or baking sheet. Mix herbs with pepper and salt to taste, then sprinkle them with tomatoes. Process the next appetizer with an oil using a brush or spray.
- At this stage, a baking tray with tomatoes can be pushed into the oven. The drying process may take about 4-6 hours (depending on the size and juiciness of the vegetables).
Learn how to dry apples, wild rose, plum, greens, currants, thyme, pears, milk mushrooms, dill, boletus, apricots, cilantro.
Drying should occur at a temperature of 80 ° C. In such conditions, tomatoes will be dried, not baked. But it is necessary to take into account the fact that in the process of drying a lot of steam will be emitted, so you need an oven with a built-in convection function of vaporous masses. If you have a regular oven, then about an hour after the start of cooking it is necessary to open the door and not close it until the end of the drying process.
- During the drying, tomatoes will lose about 60-70% of their own weight. From 5 kg of fresh tomatoes will be released about 1-1.2 kg of dried. After drying, you must prepare for the preservation of snacks for the winter. To do this, prepare the jars, wash basil leaves under running water and remove the peel from garlic.
- Now dried tomatoes are stacked in banks in layers. Between each layer must be put a little basil and garlic.
Did you know? Archaeological evidence suggests that the ancient Aztec and Inca began using tomatoes for culinary purposes. And in Europe, this vegetable came only in the XYI century.
- When the jar is completely filled, you need to add oil. Separately, I would like to say about the heat treatment of oil. Here everything will depend on how much time you are going to store dried snack. If it stands in your refrigerator for 6-8 months, then the oil does not need to be thermally processed. For a longer shelf life, the oil must be calcined.
- When the oil fills in the jar all the voids, close it and place in a cool place to store.
Sun-dried tomatoes in the electric drier
Many cooks believe that it is best to cook dried tomatoes in an electric dryer. 
This is due to many factors: saving money on the drying procedure, careful and gradual drying (no need to have an oven with convection, constantly open the door), setting the exact temperature.
If we talk about the taste of the resulting dish, then there will not be much difference from cooking in the oven.
Kitchen appliances and utensils
To prepare a tomato snack in this way you will need:
- electric dryer (power, height and number of pallets do not matter much, but a more expensive dryer will be more efficient in terms of time saving);
- a teaspoon and a plate (to remove seeds and excess liquid from tomatoes);
- wooden kitchen board and knife (for cutting vegetables in half);
- paper towel.
Ingredients
Before you start cooking, make sure that you have purchased all the necessary ingredients:
- medium-sized ripe fleshy tomatoes - 4 kg;
- salt (preferably sea) - 1.5 tsp;
- garlic - 2 small heads;
- Herbal spices to taste (it is recommended to purchase a set of "Italian herbs") - 2 tsp;
- olive oil - 1/4 liter.
For a classic Italian recipe for dried tomatoes, buy large sea salt.Important! When drying tomatoes in an electric drier, it is important to preheat the device. This is necessary so that the juice dripping from the tomatoes immediately volatilizes and does not damage the engine mechanism.Spices are best collected by yourself, the set should consist of basil, dried garlic, savory, oregano.
The oil should be olive, but do not buy the product of the first cold-pressed.
Step-by-step recipe
To get a refined Italian appetizer, follow the further instructions:
- To begin, cut the tomatoes into two pieces and remove each core.
- Then remove with the help of a teaspoon all the juice and seeds from vegetables. It will save you 3-4 hours in the drying process.
- Next you want to remove the remaining moisture from the tomatoes. To do this, put slices of tomatoes on a paper towel, cut down (for 20-30 minutes).
- We warm the electric dryer for 5-10 minutes. There should not be pallets inside.
- Then we put the tomatoes on pallets with the cut-off part up (if we do the opposite, then there is a chance of moisture on the engine).
- Mix salt and dried herbs, evenly distribute the spices on the inside of the vegetables.
- Now pallets with tomatoes must be inserted into the dryer. Drying temperature should be 70-75 ° C. If your electric dryer has a built-in timer, set it to 8-9 hours.
- Every 60-90 minutes, swap pallets. The fact is that the bottom tray is always warming up more actively due to the proximity to the fan.
- When the tomatoes are ready (about 9 hours), pull them out of the dryer and begin to prepare the jars.
- Cut the garlic into small pieces and fry it in butter (but do not bring it to a boil).
- Now we do everything the same as in the previous recipe. Put dried tomatoes and garlic layers to the top of the jar, then add olive oil and cork everything.
Did you know? Botanists have about 10 thousand different types of tomatoes.
- It should be noted that it is possible to use dried tomatoes according to the above recipe for several years, as the oil has undergone thermal hardening. But it is best to store preservation at low temperatures (about +5 ° C).
Dried tomatoes in the microwave
Sun-dried tomatoes in the microwave - probably the easiest and fastest way to cook this Mediterranean dish. Cooking does not take you much time, and the taste of the finished dish will differ little from cooking in the oven or electric drier.
Kitchen appliances and utensils
For the preparation of dried tomatoes, we need:
- microwave;
- paper towel;
- a plate and a teaspoon;
- preservation banks.
Ingredients
To prepare a delicious Italian dish, you must purchase the following products:
- 1-1.5 kg of medium-sized tomatoes;
- olive oil (about 50 g for lubrication in the process of curing, oil to fill the cans may need from 150 to 250 ml);
- sea salt to taste;
- freshly ground black pepper - 1 / 4-1 / 3 tsp. (if you like spicy dishes, you can add more pepper, guided by your own preferences);
- dried crushed basil - 1/2 tsp;
- Provence herbs or a set of "Italian spices" - 1/2 tsp;
- garlic - 4-5 medium cloves.
Important! Dried tomatoes in olive oil have 233 kcal per 100 grams of product.If desired, you can dream up and collect the most mixture of various dried herbs of provenance. Spicy food lovers are advised to add a pinch of crushed red (hot) pepper.
Step-by-step recipe
The process of cooking dried tomatoes in the microwave is as follows:
- My tomatoes and dry them.
- Cut the vegetables in half and remove the inner flesh with the seeds. Then lay the tomatoes on a paper towel to remove the remaining juice.
- Prepared tomatoes sprinkle with a mixture of spices, salt and pepper. Next, sprinkle a little olive oil on them.
- Now you can put the tomatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes. After the expiration of this time, we do not remove the vegetables from the oven, let them stand for 3-4 minutes and start the microwave for another 5 minutes.
- At this stage, the tomatoes need to be removed from the oven and drain the juice released during the drying process (but do not throw it away, we still need it).
- Put tomatoes for another 5 minutes in the microwave. After the specified time, add another 5-7 minutes on the timer, then let the vegetables settle for 10-15 minutes.
- We take out the finished dish and prepare the jars. We put the first layer of tomatoes in them, sprinkle all the sliced garlic and spices, then put the second layer and repeat the procedure.
- After canning the tomatoes must be hidden in a dark place for a day, then transferred to a refrigerator or cellar for long-term preservation.
How to store dried tomatoes
Fragrant dried tomatoes according to the Italian recipe, many keep in the refrigerator. And if you do not have a cellar, then you will not think of another option.
Tomatoes with thermally hardened oil can be preserved for 2–3 years; if the oil is not hardened, then conservation should be maintained for no longer than 6–8 months.
Did you know? From the point of view of botany, a tomato is a fruit, or rather, a berry. But the people still call him a vegetable, and not only in our country.If you have a cellar, then storage problems will not arise. In such a room can accommodate a lot of jars with tomatoes, and the temperature there is ideal for long-term savings.
What to do with dried tomatoes
With dried tomatoes you can cook a large variety of dishes. And it will not affect their taste, but on the contrary, will bring variety to your usual diet.
Experienced chefs say that dried tomatoes will be a good addition to the following dishes:
- vegetable, meat and fish salads;
- to various soups and cabbage soup;
- rice balls with Italian snacks;
- fried potatoes;
- cutlets and chicken rolls.
Now you know how to cook dried tomatoes at home in different ways. To do this, you do not need rare kitchen utensils and fine knowledge of Italian culinary business. But in the end you will get fragrant tomatoes for snacks for every day.
