What to do with your tomato harvest?
There are so many delicious ways to preserve your food without using preservatives. Tomatoes are a beautiful produce of summer. Unfortunately, food spoils quicker in the summer. Also, since tomatoes are high in water content and have thin skins, they do not last very long once they are picked. In this post, I will show you how to make beautiful oven sun dried tomatoes to help extend the life of your tomatoes.
In the case of tomatoes, you can do the following to make the most of your harvest.
How to preserve tomatoes
- Cook them into a tomato sauce and freeze
- Oven dry them to make oven “sundried” tomatoes
- Make tomato soup and freeze
Of course, you could just choose to use up all of your tomatoes right after harvest. The following recipes use tomatoes: Tomato Beef Stir Fry and Thai Papaya Salad, bruschetta.
Other ideas to use up fresh tomatoes:
- ceviche
- salsa
- pico de gallo
- roasted tomatoes side dish
- bruschetta
What can I make with oven sun dried tomatoes?
- creamy pasta with chicken, spinach, and sun dried tomatoes
- make a romesco sauce
- sprinkle them in your salad
- pizza topping
- add them to your cheeseboard for a tangy contrast to meat and cheese
Price Comparison
Sun dried tomatoes cost $3-5 for a 3-oz pack. But you can essentially make them for free if you already grown cherry tomatoes at home. Or if you buy cherry tomatoes, they cost $3.29/lb. Oven sun dried tomatoes are much cheaper if you make them at home.
Store-bought ($1 – 1.67/ oz) vs. Home-made ($.21/ oz).
Sure, these are not very expensive, but the price mark-up is almost 5x the price if you buy store-bought sun dried tomatoes. Try making oven sun dried tomatoes yourself to skip the preservatives and see if you get a better result!
Oven Sun Dried Tomatoes
Equipment
- oven
Ingredients
- 5 lb fresh cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Using a chef's knife, cut tomatoes in half.
- Sprinkle evenly with salt.
- Roast butternut squash for approximately 3 hours turning the last hour to allow even roasting.
- When tomatoes have become dried but still somewhat chewy and soft, remove from oven.
- Allow tomatoes to cool. Then place them in a sealed container and refrigerate. These can keep for 1-2 months refrigerated.
Happy cooking! Tag me on Instagram @jennskitchendiary if you’ve made this dish! Would love to see how it turned out!
