Shitshow Kitchen: Oven-Dried Tomatoes

I want to start by telling you this recipe has the single greatest work to reward ratio of any recipe ever devised. I defy you to give me an easier recipe that results in a better and more versatile finished product.

Your ingredients.

Ingredients:
Cherry or grape tomatoes
Garlic
Olive oil
Kosher salt


I didn't list amounts because there's no set amount on this stuff. I used about two pounds of tomatoes and two heads of garlic, although if you want to do more or less you just use more or less.

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees and de-stem your tomatoes.

No one eats stems, not even your mother "because they are good for you."

Take out two sheet pans-- the kind with the little rim are better, jelly roll pans, but if you accidentally caught them on fire the last time you used them as a drip pan for your meatloaf and then you threw them out the back door into the snow until they stopped smoking and then you forgot about them and moved, so you don't have them anymore, you can use cookie sheets. I wrapped mine in aluminum foil because I hate doing dishes.

Cut all your tomatoes in half and spread them on the pans. You're supposed to cut them on the equator, like the fat middle, but I always forget. Then separate the garlic into cloves (with the peels still on them) and cast them about the pan.

We are indiscriminately halved

Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil (I cheat and use a plastic bag with the corner snipped off for easy drizzling) and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Totally cheating and I don't care who knows it

Put your pan in the oven for 2-3 hours. You can take them out when they go from this:

We are plump and watery

To this:

We are emaciated and dessicated

Let them cool for a few minutes, then pop the garlic cloves out of their skins. Scrape the entire thing into jars or tupperwares and cover with olive oil.

This is the greatest ingredient in the world

You can use these tomatoes on ANYTHING. I use them on bread with mozzarella, parm, and oregano to make awesome tapas.

I don't have an after picture because I burnt the shit out of them

Cut into squares and watch the marriage proposals roll in.

I was salvaged from the flames

Or you can toss them with noodles, oil, parmesan, and basil for an easy dinner. Use them as a pizza topping. Throw them (with a little oil) in the food processor for a tomato tapenade. Mix some of the tapenade with mayo for tomato-garlic mayo. The oil on its own is kind of a tomato-garlic infusion, and can be used in the place of your other oil in recipes. I usually just keep filling the jar with oil when I take out tomatoes, so at the end you have a jar of tomato-garlic oil. NOM.

Basically, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING WITH THESE and they are so delicious! They have just the right concentrated tomato flavor without any of the chewiness of sun-dried tomatoes. They are heaven. This will make your life beautiful.

ENJOY, ladies and gents. The easiest, tastiest, most versatile recipe EVER.


Adapted from Smitten Kitchen