oven dried tomatoes

I have gathered and frozen a bounty of tomatoes from my garden, but this heat wave we're having here in the Carolinas has taken a toll on my plants, and I want more.  Whole Foods recently acquired a batch of small, heirloom tomatoes that are delicious.  I have little room left in my freezer, so, what to do?

Dry a batch, and freeze.  Once their volume is reduced, their flavor is intensified, and they take up little room in the freezer.  And they do need to be frozen.  Unlike commercially dried tomatoes, home-dried ones retain enough moisture that they can develop mold.

a variety of heirloom tomatoes, split in half and ready for the oven

Placing the split tomatoes on a rack allows the air to circulate around the tomatoes.  I dry them for about 3 hours in a 200 degree oven (if you have a convection oven, use it--the additional air circulation will dry the tomatoes even faster), then bag them when they are cool, for a taste of summer sweetness in winter dishes.  Drying them longer will of course reduce the moisture even more (um, duh, Gail).  I keep the time to around 3 hours so the tomatoes will still maintain a bit of their tender bite.

the finished product

These tasty little bites are a great addition to a cold weather tomato sauce, a scampi, or a salad of fall greens.  I think, since the little local gems are so good this year, I will be drying another round.