Good afternoon. It's harvest time now. I'll show you what I do with the "substandard" tomatoes.
Recently, after sorting through the harvest, I ended up with this bucket of not-so-great-looking tomatoes. Some were cracked, others were bug-bitten or just small. This year, the cherry tomato bush is producing abundantly. At first, my daughter and her friend ate them with relish. But they've also grown tired of these "berries." I decided to dry them, too.
I've made this recipe before. Before I got a dehydrator, I dried them directly in the sun on a wire rack or in the oven. Now, using an electric dehydrator is much more convenient—it keeps dust and small leaves from the trees out, and it dries faster.
So, I wash the tomatoes and sort them (the key here is to select the fleshier, firmer ones, with more pulp than juice). Next, I slice the larger tomatoes into rounds (5-7 mm thick), trimming off any damaged areas. Smaller tomatoes can be halved.
I lay them out on the drying tray in one layer.
I set the tomatoes to dry for about 8 hours at 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit), then reduce the temperature to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) and check for doneness. I continue drying until the moisture has evaporated, but without allowing them to become crunchy. The slices should have the consistency of raisins—firm but not brittle. It's important to spread roughly equal pieces on each tray. Otherwise, you'll end up like I did this time—some are already wilted, while the larger pieces are still raw. Then you have to choose the ones that are done and leave the uncooked ones to dry further.
I place the cooked tomatoes in a glass jar, sprinkling the layers with salt and spices. I add about a tablespoon of salt per half-liter jar.
A couple of cloves of garlic – finely grated or pressed. Spices – a pinch or two, as desired. I like to use "Herbes de Provence" or "Italian Herbes."
In a separate saucepan, I heat the vegetable oil. Carefully pour it into the sun-dried tomatoes. Tighten the lid and let it cool. This heat-treats the tomatoes and helps them keep longer. The oil infuses with the flavors of the herbs and tomatoes, so I use it later, adding it to dishes when cooking. And the sun-dried tomatoes themselves are delicious and aromatic.
I keep it in the refrigerator. It's delicious and easy to put on bread (it makes a sandwich), and when cooking, I slice it and fry it in a pan with onions.
I've seen another recipe where the chopped tomatoes are immediately salted, sprinkled with spices, and rolled in oil. After drying, they're simply placed in a bag. I haven't tried it that way yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it the next time I'm drying.