Dried tomatoes

Dried tomatoes, a delight as an aperitif or in a salad. You don't have to buy them by the weight of gold from an Italian caterer. Here is the perfect recipe to make them yourself.

For 4 people

Ingredients

8 tomatoes. You can of course make as many tomatoes as you want. For a nice presentation as an aperitif, you can also buy tomatoes of various colours.
8 garlic cloves (1 clove per tomato)
8 tablespoons of olive oil (1 tablespoon per tomato)
Dried thyme
Salt, pepper

Equipment

Baking sheet of the oven

1 skimmer

1 colander

1 small kitchen knife

1 sheet of grease-proof paper

Skill

Time frame

3h30. 30 minutes of preparation. 3 hours of cooking.

Price per person

2 €

Recipe

Peel and seed the tomatoes. To do this, bring a pan of water to a boil. With a small knife, make a cross-shaped incision in the bottom of the tomato.

Immerse the tomatoes in boiling water for 15 seconds, no more. Remove them with a skimmer and put them in a colander to drain. You can do it by 2 or 3 tomatoes at a time, rather than all at the same time. In this case, wait until the boiling resumes between each batch.

To peel the tomatoes, it is then very easy. You slide the blade of your small knife under the skin of the tomato by taking it under The skin comes by itself.

You get beautiful peeled tomatoes.

Cut them in 4. Using the small knife, cut the white part in the middle and remove all the pips. Everything will come very easily. You get impeccable tomato quarters, ready to be dried or crushed according to the recipes.

Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on the baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 80°. Place the tomato quarters on the sheet, one beside the other with the convex side on the sheet side. Peel the garlic cloves, degerminate them, cut them into 4. Pour ½ teaspoon of olive oil into each tomato quarter. Place ¼ of garlic clove in each quarter. Place a pinch of thyme on top. Sprinkle with very little fine salt and pepper: do not put much of it on, the drying will concentrate the spices.

Put in the oven for 1h30 at 80°. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the quarters over, leaving the garlic piece underneath. Put back in the oven for another 1h30 at 80°.

Your dried tomatoes are ready. You can serve them or keep them in a jar or hermetically sealed container filled with olive oil.