One of my Christmas pressies from Bear was a food dehydrator and I love it! This weekend I made heaps of dried tomatoes, getting them ready for three gorgeous marinades.
I used a mixture of Roma and beefsteak tomatoes to see which ones I liked better. Roma tomatoes have lower moisture content so they dried much faster, but they both taste great.
I like how lacy the beefsteak tomato slices get, so thin and delicate with lots of nooks and crannies for the marinade to soak in.
For the first batch I added a bit of spice with my friend Stacey’s homemade harissa. It is a lovely mixture of chilies, cumin, coriander, and other good things, a marvelous pairing for sweet dried tomatoes.
For the second batch I added a big spoonful of drained capers. They go so beautifully with tomatoes, adding a nice, vinegary kick.
Garlic and peppercorns flavored the third batch. Now I have three jewel-tone jars glistening with savory goodness.
My next dehydrating project is figs, beautiful figs from my friends Ann and Neil. I learned this week that figs are one of the few fruits that gain nutritional value through drying. And they’re going to taste mighty good wrapped in prosciutto and roasted.
What delicious things have you been making recently? xo
Marinated Dried Tomatoes with Harissa
Ingredients:
clean, sterilized jar
dried tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
1/2-1 tsp harissa
Directions:
- Pack tomatoes into sterilized jar.
- Stir together olive oil and harissa, pour over tomatoes to cover by 1/2 inch.
- Seal and store 1-2 weeks.
Marinated Dried Tomatoes with Garlic and Pepper
Ingredients:
clean, sterilized jar
dried tomatoes
4-6 fresh garlic cloves
1/2 tsp pepper corns
extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Pack tomatoes into sterilized jar, layering with garlic and pepper corns.
- Pour olive oil over tomatoes to cover by 1/2 inch.
- Seal and store 1-2 weeks.
Marinated Dried Tomatoes with Capers
Ingredients:
clean, sterilized jar
dried tomatoes
1 Tbsp capers, drained
extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Pack tomatoes into sterilized jar, layered with capers.
- Pour olive oil over tomatoes to cover by 1/2 inch.
- Seal and store 1-2 weeks.
You must have peeked into my kitchen window! I have had the dehydrator on day and night drying my cherry tomatoes! They are growing out of control at the moment, I have been putting mine in oil and chilli but I will have to try capers too… do you keep yours in the fridge or the cupboard… I am worried about poisoning the family so mine are taking up valuable fridge space at the moment.
Oooh, cherry tomatoes would be SO good, @GourmetGetaway:disqus 🙂 I keep mine in the cupboard. I did some research and they said as long as the tomatoes are covered by the oil, they won’t go bad. And that’s been my experience. The only time they went wonky was when I didn’t have enough oil covering them. 🙂
Thanks for the tip!
I have chilli and tomatoes everywhere in the garden!!
No worries! I’m nervous about poisoning us too and am very happy to learn how NOT to. 🙂
These look perfect! Absolutely wonderful.
Thank you so much, Sarah. 🙂
Dehydrators are just so fantastically useful aren’t they?. I used to have one years ago and made all kinds of things in it. Your tomatoes look very delicious indeed.
They really are wonderful, @taniamykitchenstoriescomau:disqus , especially because I have a bad habit of buying too much food and this saves me from throwing anything out. 🙂
You make food look SO beautiful!
Ohhh, thank you, @AndiPerullo:disqus 🙂 xo
Oh how I love marinated dried tomatoes, Krista! You are very clever, thank you for sharing this recipe.
I’m so glad you like them too, @lizposmyk:disqus !! 🙂
Yum Krista. I love tomatoes and all of these sound so tasty 🙂 I hope you enjoy them all. What a great present Bear got you 🙂
Isn’t it a fantastic pressie, @wanderingsheila:disqus ? 🙂 Totally made my day. 🙂
You know, I never thought of making these myself…it looks a little easier than I thought it would be!
It is really, really easy, @inspiringtravellers:disqus 🙂 And they taste amazingly good. It’s nice knowing there aren’t any preservatives or sugar or anything that’s not so good for us right now. 🙂
You will get so much pleasure just looking at these bottles without even eating them Krista. This week I made curried Pumpkin for my husband and I and also for our Vegan daughter. It is way more tasty than it sounds. I am a curry freak and we had ours with roti bread, left over curried chicken, potato and beans and Tandoori chicken tenderloins.
I totally do, @budgetjan:disqus 🙂 I’ve lined them up on my kitchen counter and they delight me every day. 🙂 I’m a curry freak too!!! Pumpkin curry sounds amazing. 🙂
I have a dehydrator but the only time I use it is to semi-dry tomatoes for one recipe. I need to get on the stick before the dehydrator wears out. I’m inspired!
I’m so happy you’re inspired, @disqus_v9uRgGTGfe:disqus 🙂 I can’t wait to see what interesting things you make. 🙂
Yet another reason why I need a dehydrator! This is such a great use for it!
It sure is, @joanneeatswellwithothers:disqus 🙂 I’m really excited to try other things like vegetables and beef jerky. 🙂
How exciting! I’ve never used a dehydrator before but it would be wonderful if you had a glut of fruit or veg in your garden. I love the sound of the jar with capers.
It IS exciting, @disqus_xRgkTDNCQJ:disqus ! 🙂 It is such a handy thing to have – especially when in-season fruits and veg are sold for just a couple dollars a box at the farmer’s market. Next up are dried pears that will be so lovely for snacking on. 🙂
What an interesting gadget, I think I might find one of these very useful, especially now I cannot rely on the sun. 🙂
Yes, it is SO handy, @LindyLouMac:disqus 🙂 Especially, if you’re like me, and always buy too much fresh fruit and veg. This way they never go to waste. 🙂
What a fantastic gift and those tomatoes look lovely! I would love to try this, one day when I have a dehydrator. =)
Yum, these look so delicious. Wish I had a dehydrator.