Sun Dried Tomatoes

The Italians have lied to us for years! For that matter, most of the Mediterranean nations have been stretching the truth to us "westerners!" There is no such thing as sun dried tomatoes! There are dried tomatoes, and they have a sweet, concentrated tomato flavour, but there's no "sun" involved, that's just a flowery name for them.

Nope, sun dried tomatoes are dried in the oven. Any tomatoes will work, although I find cherry and grape style tomatoes work the best. Simply wash and dry tomatoes, then slice them all in half and combine them carefully in a medium/large mixing bowl. Drizzle them generously with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix them gently. Take a cookie sheet/baking tray and arrange the tomatoes skin side down so none are touching. (If you're wondering if you need to grease the tray, you need to go back and add more oil to the tomatoes!) Then put the tray in the oven or toaster oven at the lowest possible setting for several hours, preferably overnight!

When they come out of the oven, the tomatoes will have shrunk, concentrated, and become tiny morsels of goodness! Just make sure they go straight in the fridge for maximum shelf life!