Photo by Laura Edwards
If you have a ton of tomatoes, try drying — otherwise this method could get expensive.
Ingredients
- 4-1/2 pounds tomatoes
- 4 teaspoons sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 teaspoons superfine sugar (caster sugar)
- 1 cup white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil, or more if needed
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Halve the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Put the halves, cut side up, on wire racks set in roasting pans (the tomatoes shouldn’t touch each other).
- Sprinkle each with salt, pepper, and sugar. Leave for 15 minutes so the flavors can penetrate, and then turn them over.
- Put the tomatoes in the oven. The length of time it will take to dry them will depend on the size and juiciness of the tomatoes, but take a look after 3-1/2 hours and see how they’re doing. (I usually find that large plum tomatoes take more than 4 hours.) They should be shrunken but still plump and not brittle.
- Carefully pull them off the rack (they'll stick; try not to tear them).
- Leave tomatoes to cool a little, and then put them in a broad shallow bowl, pour over the vinegar, and leave them for 1 hour.
- Put the tomatoes with the vinegar into a warm, dry, sterilized jar and pour in the olive oil; cover tomatoes completely.
- Keep them in the refrigerator and eat within 4 weeks.
- Learn more about preserving and canning tomatoes:
- Preserving Tomatoes: A Primer
