Cherry tomatoes are one of the joys of summer. We love them in some of our favorite things. We slice them and put them on salads, roast them and serve them with pasta, make them into salsa, the list goes on.
This year we grew only two cherry tomato plants, but they have practically overgrown the beds and they have produced like crazy. Note to self, though, don’t plant sungold and sweet 100s plants too close together because a ripe sungold looks a lot like a not-so-ripe sweet 100. I know, common sense, right?
With all of these tomatoes, we decided to bring out the new food dehydrator that my daughter gave us and make some “sun dried” cherry tomatoes. It was the maiden voyage of this device and I have to say I am pleased with the results.
Recipe
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half and place in large bowl or colander.
- Add a small amount of olive oil and mix by hand
- Lay the tomatoes out on drying racks
- Sprinkle with some salt and pepper
- Dry at 140º for about 12 hours or so until they are leathery
When they had finished, we tried a few right off the rack and they are delicious – much sweeter than I had expected. So far we have tried them with cream cheese and crackers as well as just snacking on them plain. I can imagine several used for them.
We have them stored in an old-timey mason jar that we have put in the fridge. I try to take them out periodically and shake them around and let them breathe. Honestly, storage is the one thing I’m not sure about. I don’t want them to spoil, but they should be shelf-stable. In the meantime, if we eat them fast enough, it won’t matter.
