It’s the versatile ingredient that goes a little bit in everything and adds a lot of flavour! They’ll add a fragrant Mediterranean touch to any dish. Homemade sun-dried tomatoes are very simple to prepare, requiring no more than 10 minutes.
This is the season for long, fleshy tomatoes, like Roma, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of them. The price of store-bought dried tomatoes is quite high, whereas making them at home is much more economical.
Once dehydrated, the tomatoes are packed in an airtight jar and covered with olive oil and dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, herbes de Provence and dried garlic. This keeps them soft and fragrant.
For an express appetizer, it’s perfect for making bruschettas! On slices of toasted baguette spread with roasted garlic and a little guacamole, with 2 or 3 sun-dried tomatoes on top, it’s a real treat!
Table of Contents
Using Sun-dried tomatoes
Dried tomatoes are an incredibly versatile ingredient in the kitchen. They can be used in a variety of dishes.
Salads: Add them to your salads for an burst of flavor. They go particularly well with arugula leaves, feta cheese and olives.
Pasta : Incorporate them into your favorite pasta recipes, spaghetti, lasagne etc.
Pizzas: Sprinkle a few pieces of sun-dried tomato on a margherita pizza for a gourmet touch.
Sauces and Pestos: Mix with walnuts, Parmesan and olive oil to create a rich, flavorful red pesto, perfect with pasta or grilled vegetables.
Tarts, Quiches and Cakes: Their intense taste enhances savoury tarts and quiches, offering a unique Mediterranean flavour. They add an enormous amount of flavour to savoury cakes such as feta. 
Preparation steps
NB: You’ll find all the ingredients in the complete recipe card at the end of the article, which you can print out.
1. Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F)
2. Wash and dry the tomatoes with paper towels, then cut lengthwise into quarters.
3. Arrange the tomato wedges on a baking tray covered with parchment paper, cut side up. Depending on the size of the tomatoes, cut them into quarters and then each quarter in half. If they contain too much juice, drain them, but this is generally not necessary with fleshy Roma tomatoes.
4. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, herbs and chopped or powdered garlic to taste. You can sprinkle them with just salt and sugar and add the herbs and garlic powder after drying with olive oil.
5. Place in the oven and leave to dry for 5 to 7 hours, checking regularly.
Note: Depending on your oven, the juice content of the tomatoes and the thickness of the pieces, drying time may vary. The tomatoes should be wrinkled but still soft to the touch. For example, cherry tomatoes cut in half will take less time to dry, so adjust the time accordingly.
6. When the top of the tomatoes is dry, turn them over to dry the other side.
7. Open the oven occasionally to let off steam.
8. The tomatoes should be quite dry and no longer have any juice if you squeeze them between your fingers, but they should remain supple.
Note: If you dry them too long, they will become hard and unpalatable. However, if you don’t dry them sufficiently, they won’t keep as long and may quickly go mouldy.
9. Before the end of the drying time, remove the tomatoes from the baking sheet and allow them to cool. Place open jars and lids in the oven for 15 minutes to sterilize.
10. Fill the sterilized jars with the dried tomatoes and cover to the brim with olive oil mixed with herbes de Provence, dried thyme or oregano and garlic powder (if you didn’t use enough at first).
11. Close the jars and turn them upside down to distribute the oil, then turn them right-side out.
12. Keep refrigerated. If you want to preserve them without oil, you need to dehydrate them further by extending the drying time.
Homemade Oven "Sun-Dried" Tomatoes Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes or the desired amount (35.3 oz), preferably Roma or San Marzano
- Salt
- Herbs de Provence optional
- Dried thyme or oregano
- 3 garlic cloves or garlic powder
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
PREPARATION
- Preheat oven to 120°C (250°F)
- Wash and dry the tomatoes with paper towels, then cut lengthwise into quarters.
- Arrange the tomato wedges on a baking tray covered with parchment paper, cut side up. Depending on the size of the tomatoes, cut them into quarters and then each quarter in half. If they contain too much juice, drain them, but this is generally not necessary with fleshy Roma tomatoes.
- Sprinkle with salt, sugar, herbs and chopped or powdered garlic to taste. You can sprinkle them with just salt and sugar and add the herbs and garlic powder after drying with olive oil.
- Place in the oven and leave to dry for 5 to 7 hours, checking regularly.
- Note: Depending on your oven, the juice content of the tomatoes and the thickness of the pieces, drying time may vary. The tomatoes should be wrinkled but still soft to the touch. For example, cherry tomatoes cut in half will take less time to dry, so adjust the time accordingly.
- When the top of the tomatoes is dry, turn them over to dry the other side.
- Open the oven occasionally to let off steam.
- The tomatoes should be quite dry and no longer have any juice if you squeeze them between your fingers, but they should remain supple.
- Note: If you dry them too long, they will become hard and unpalatable. However, if you don't dry them sufficiently, they won't keep as long and may quickly go mouldy.
- Before the end of the drying time, remove the tomatoes from the baking sheet and allow them to cool. Place open jars and lids in the oven for 15 minutes to sterilize.
- Fill the sterilized jars with the dried tomatoes and cover to the brim with olive oil mixed with herbes de Provence, dried thyme or oregano and garlic powder (if you didn't use enough at first).
- Close the jars and turn them upside down to distribute the oil, then turn them right-side out.
- Keep refrigerated. If you want to preserve them without oil, you need to dehydrate them further by extending the drying time.
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