Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun -drying tomatoes in places where you get plenty of sun is easy but in a tropical country like our's here are a few points you might find useful which I am sharing from my experience . While you can use any herb or make it any way I am giving you the exact measurement and ingredients which I personally have used
Mixing everything |
So basically what you need is :-
1 kilogram of plump red tomatoes. I used the medium sized ones
1 tbsp paprika
1 heaped tsp dried thyme
Salt as per taste but here I would like to point out that salt is a preservative and so using a bit of extra salt wouldn't be a bad idea. I used 1 heaped tsp + 1 dessertspoon of salt.
Dried after 3 days |
Chop the tomatoes in small pieces and mix all the ingredients and place preferably on a flat colander or just a big plate. Let it wrinkle up. It might take any number of days from 3 days to 2 weeks. It took me 3 days. Once done the texture will be dry and leathery . Now simply store in a jar and fill the jar with olive oil, I used 5 to 6 dried cloves of garlic and 1 whole sun dried red chili pepper for extra flavour. let it sit for 2 days and enjoy the amazing flavour. use on pizzas, pastas , salads or even on bread
Here is an idea of what can be done with these gorgeous beauties. Spaghetti with Sun dried tomatoes.
Points to remember :-
- Place the tomatoes side by side leaving a bit of space between them
- Once the sun goes down immediately put your colander in the refrigerator else it might form moulds in a Tropical country like India. i did a test and put out one slice outside and put the rest inside and the one slice developed mould within 1 hour.
- Use a screen to ward off birds
- If living in a dusty area use a muslin cloth on top but make sure it doesn't touch the tomatoes . use bricks on four sides. Remember our Grandmothers making pickles and drying stuff before pickling
Got it, thinking of trying it soon. Do you just discard the juice/liquid? And also do you put it in the fridge as it is or boxed/covered? Please don't mind the silly questions :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Rashi, The juices were collected in a pot which was placed beneath the colander but by the end of the day all the juices will have dried up. I personally put the colander in the refrigerator with a muslin cloth on top and the questions aren't silly at all :)
ReplyDelete