I spent last January poring over several seed catalogs and daydreaming about new-to-me food experiments to attempt in the kitchen from fruits and vegetables freshly harvested from the backyard garden. When I read about tomato varieties best suited for drying, I decided to try my hand at growing Principe Borghese, a determinate variety that produces grape-sized fruits with dense flesh and few seeds. All four plants I started from seed have been prolific this summer, giving me the opportunity to dry several pounds of fruit to put up for the months when the weather is too cold.
While you can certainly go old school and dry tomatoes in the sun, with my limited time at home, the shifty neighborhood squirrels, and Colorado’s sudden extreme weather, I opted for the dehydration process using an electric dehydrator, which is incredibly easy and a low-maintenance preservation technique when there are piles of other summer produce that need to be put up for later use. After drying, I chose to store the dehydrated garden tomatoes in the freezer in sealed plastic bags, and I packed some in olive oil to use in sauces and with cheese and crusty bread for appetizers.
Dehydrated Garden Tomatoes Makes 3 cups
to Freeze or Pack in Olive Oil
Ingredients
3 pounds of cleaned, fleshy tomatoes of similar size, ideally a variety intended for drying like Principe Borghese, Roma or other paste tomatoes
Salt for sprinkling over tomatoes
Olive oil for packing (optional but highly recommend)
Red or white wine vinegar if packing in oil
4-to-8 ounce jars with tight-fitting lids for oil pack method (canning jars with lids and rings work great.)
Directions
To dry tomatoes, grab your dehydrator, wipe down trays, and set aside a few to hold tomatoes for drying.
Halve tomatoes (quarter if using larger varieties like Roma), and place cut-side-up on trays. Sprinkle very lightly with salt, and arrange the trays in the dehydrator.
Set the dehydrator to 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and let the tomatoes dry until dry but pliable. This will take about 7 hours at this temperature.
At this point, you can measure out the dried tomatoes into 1-cup increments and seal in freezer bags or sealed containers and freeze for up to a year.
If you'd like to preserve in olive oil, you'll need to reconstitute the tomatoes in warm water for about 30 minutes. Pour some wine vinegar into a small bowl, and dip the tomatoes in the vinegar before packing in your jars. When you've filled the jars, pour oil into the jar to cover the tomatoes. Set the jars on the counter for about 30 minutes to let flavors marry, and then store in the refrigerator for up to 12 months.