Home dried "sundried" tomatoes

[Tirza]

I love Alissa's Marinara Sauce. So far I have bought the sundried tomatoes from the health food store. I decided that since it is tomato season and I have a dehydrator, I might as well dry my own. So I got a lot of plum tomatoes, sliced some into wedges by cutting them lengthwise into quarters, and sliced some into just slices.

Now that they are dried, I find I have a really different product. They are crispy-crunchy, and some are just plain leathery. I mean DRY leathery. I dried them dry so they wouldn't go bad.

This reminds me of drying my own apricots and finding a huge difference between the dark, hard, home-dried ones in contrast with the nice orange soft rubbery (sulphured) commercial ones.

So what do I do with these tomatoes. Will they soak okay and be able to be used to make the marinara? What should I have done?

[Rawkinlocs]

I do this all the time! They work great for making the sauce. Rawpriestess also marinates her tomatoes in an herb-infused olive oil and dries them and then STORES them in olive oil (I think in the fridge).

I have dried them both ways...plain and marinated and they both come out great and great for soaking and making sauce. You may not get that deep, dark color, but that's fine...it still makes the sauce thicker and richer than fresh tomatoes alone. I store mine in a ziploc bag in the fridge.

[Lay-Lay]

I do the same Rawkinlocs. Alissa's Marinara is my favorite raw recipe.

[Tirza]

I do this all the time! They work great for making the sauce. Rawpriestess also marinates her tomatoes in an herb-infused olive oil and dries them and then STORES them in olive oil (I think in the fridge).

I have dried them both ways...plain and marinated and they both come out great and great for soaking and making sauce. You may not get that deep, dark color, but that's fine...it still makes the sauce thicker and richer than fresh tomatoes alone. I store mine in a ziploc bag in the fridge.
Whew! I am glad to hear it! Thanks!

So you marinate the slices before drying? Isn't that pretty messy? What are some suggestions for the marinade?

[Rawkinlocs]

I don't always marinate...in fact, hardly ever do but I have done so.

The few times I did marinate, I just used olive oil...but RP uses olive oil with herbs in it...like Italian herbs. It's not too messy, I mean, you could always line the tray with unbleached parchment or use the teflex/fruit roll sheets/trays.

[Tirza]

Okay, I forgot to ask before - how long to marinate? At room temperature or in the fridge?
Thanks

[Rawkinlocs]

I think I just did it overnight and I think they were left out on the counter, but you could put them in the fridge if you want. Maybe RP can chime in here when she's available as she does it the marinated way probably more often than I do.

[Tirza]

I am hoping to hear how you marinate these, what ingredients, how long, room temp or fridge? How long do you dehydrate them and then how are they stored?
Thanks

[Nini]

I have dried them both ways...plain and marinated and they both come out great and great for soaking and making sauce. You may not get that deep, dark color, but that's fine...it still makes the sauce thicker and richer than fresh tomatoes alone. I store mine in a ziploc bag in the fridge.

Me, too. I usually spritz them with olive oil.

[KindnessToAllCreatures]

Sorry I'm not RP... I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth!

I bought a 9 tray Excalibur this year, so I also made sure to plant several Roma tomato plants this year. With a cheap mandoline, I can slice up multiple trays of tomato slices in under 15 minutes. The Roma tomatoes dehydrate beautifully-they become a darker red after they dry. I've been storing them in canning jars. I use them for Alyssa's pizza bread (a favorite of many on this site!), and also like to eat them plain out of the jar. I look forward to using them through the winter, too. They'll taste so much better knowing I grew and dehydrated them myself! :)

[LovingLife]

Thanks for these ideas. Two different friends gave me tomatoes this week and nothing I tried with them fresh tasted good to me. So I'd just stuck them in the dehydrator when I found your thread. I mixed up some olive oil and some fresh basil and oregano that a friend just hung dry from his garden. Then I dipped each tomato slice into the herb oil -- hopefully it can marinate a bit while it dries.

[LovingLife]

Yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just came home after my tomatoes had been in the dehydrator for many hours (however long since my last post) and they looked so seasoned and yummy. I just so happened to have a tray of already broken sprouted wheat crackers on the row beneat them because those crackers had gotten a little stale, so I put them in the dehydrator for some freshening up. And I had the great idea of combining them. SUPER YUMMY!

Here I was feeling a tad bit sorry for myself about an hour ago when I saw some Round Table pizza at my friend's house on the counter. But to come home to this was fabulous. I'm thinking this could be a fast & easy pizza substitute. What I'd love to do (but am out of them) is marinate some mushrooms and peppers at the same time then combine them all. I don't even need the fancy crust or mock cheese. This was fabulous!

[rawpriestess]

Hi, I cut the tomatoes at least in half if they are cherries, and into 1/2 inch slices if they are larger

I place them in a flat tray, and drizzle olive oil on them, and add crushed garlic, and minced basil and oregano.

I stir and allow them to marinate overnight, then I place them on teflex sheets and dehydrate, when they are done to my liking, (I do them to crisp) I place them in a jar, and add olive oil, some more herbs and more garlic.

As long as the oil is covering the tomatoes, then they will stay good, I keep them in the fridge, always have several jars in there.