Making Room for This Year's Tomatoes

We’ll be harvesting the first of our ripe tomatoes today, or tomorrow. So begins my annual ritual of checking the stores of last year‘s tomato harvests. Aside from canned jars of purée, sauce, and other tomato creations, we have several jars of dried tomatoes that we’ve not yet used.

So, to make space on our pantry shelves for this year’s harvests, I’m creating oil packed dried tomatoes. You know, the kind that are easy to pluck out of the jar to eat with some bread, add to some pasta, pizza, a main or side dish, and so on and so forth. ::swoon::

I thought I’d share the process I use to make these. It’s simple, and can be modified for the flavor profiles delight you, or simply what you have on hand...

In a pan, cover the dried tomatoes (I had a quart's worth) with water, a little salt if desired, and about a half a cup of vinegar.

I bring this to a boil, then simmer for five minutes or so, strain, lay out on a rack (or lint free cloth) and let them air dry for a couple/few hours.

Pack them in jars with whatever herbs and spices please you. I used garlic, bay leaf, and clove in this batch. And once the tomatoes 'n' botanicals are packed in the jar, cover the top with a nice layer of extra-virgin olive oil. This creates the seal that prevents oxygen from getting in and compromising your beautiful creation, creating a shelf stable delight that requires no refrigeration, yet that appreciates a cool spot, out of sunlight (I use my north room).

I let this sit at least 2-3 weeks before using it. And in 2-3 weeks I’ll be making another batch with a different profile, likely featuring oregano, mint and - of course - garlic.

If you have dried tomatoes left from last year, I hope you’ll try this. You won’t be disappointed.

Peace. 🕊