Sun-dried tomatoes from Yulia Vysotskaya are a gourmet recipe for those who are interested in Mediterranean cuisine. Lovers of traditional Russian cuisine should also try this recipe. You will only benefit if there are sun-dried tomatoes on the refrigerator shelf next to a jar of pickled tomatoes in their own juice.
The best varieties of tomatoes for drying
It must be said right away that not all varieties grown in open ground or in greenhouses are suitable for cooking according to Yulia Vysotskaya’s recipe. She recommends using only small tomatoes. Salad tomatoes are definitely not suitable - you need canning varieties with thin, durable skin and dense pulp.
Among domestic varieties, Yulia recommends all types of small tomatoes. Cherry will also work. Keep in mind that overripe fruits are definitely not suitable. Select only dense, elastic and shiny ones.
About spices
The basis of Mediterranean cuisine is spices. Dried vegetables prepared in sunny Italy, thanks to the spices, are a masterpiece of taste. But we, living in Siberia or the Urals, can also prepare something similar.
Following the recommendations of Yulia Vysotskaya, tomatoes for the winter according to her recipe can be seasoned with black pepper and basil. She uses not only dried basil, but also fresh basil, just picked from the garden.
It’s worth listening to one more piece of her advice. She prefers purple basil varieties. In her opinion, the spicy notes of purple varieties of basil are better revealed during heat treatment.
Any salt will not work, especially one enriched with iodine. If you want to get high-quality sun-dried tomatoes, buy good sea salt for harvesting - there is quite a large selection of it in supermarkets.
How to cook sun-dried tomatoes according to Julia Vysotskaya's recipe
Buy tomatoes at the market or pick tomatoes, red cream, small in size from your garden. Wash and dry the fruits. Choose a suitable vessel for cooking. This can be either a baking sheet or a large-diameter frying pan.
You can take care of the tomatoes: wash them, drain them, cut each tomato in half. The seeds that are inside will have to be removed, using a teaspoon for this. We don't need this pulp. Place the halves tightly on a baking sheet. Place the notch facing up.
It's time to prepare the dressing.To do this, take a mortar and pestle. We will grind the spices. First, generously sprinkle in some black peppercorns, followed by dried basil, a large pinch of coarse sea salt and, at the very end, chopped fresh basil.
Peel the garlic and add it to other spices. By the way, the more garlic, the better. When cooked, it gives tomatoes a wonderful taste and aroma. Grind all this with a pestle until a homogeneous mass is spread over the tomatoes. There should be enough for everyone.
A crucial moment comes, without which the recipe for sun-dried tomatoes will not correspond to Yulia Vysotskaya’s recipe. It's time to season the dish with olive oil. The author of the recipe advises choosing refined olive oil. Water generously, as the halves should be 2/3 immersed in oil.
Preheat the oven to 190° and place a baking sheet in it. We will dry it for at least 3 hours. According to Yulia, the longer the tomatoes sit in the oven, the better.
Sun-dried tomatoes cooked in an electric dryer
Do you have an electric dryer? This is very good. Try the recipe sun-dried tomatoes in an electric dryer, and there will always be a jar of yummy food in the refrigerator. We select tomatoes suitable for drying, wash them and start slicing.
Cut crosswise into slices 1 cm thick. Do not wilt slices that are too thin. Place the tomato mugs on the dryer rack and start it. While the process is underway, we are doing refueling.
The first dressing option will be with garlic. Clean two heads and grind them in a garlic press. Place the garlic mass in a bowl, season with salt and grind with a spoon until smooth. We will use Herbs de Provence seasoning as the second dressing.
Remove dried tomatoes from the dryer.We will fill the first jar with garlic dressing. Place a layer of tomato, a layer of dressing, and so on until the very top. Press down the layers with a spoon. When the jar is filled to the top, fill the contents with olive oil and close the jar with a lid.
We fill the second jar in the same way, only instead of garlic dressing, we salt each layer and sprinkle with Provençal herbs. Pour oil into the filled jar. We put the jars in the refrigerator. Only after two weeks will the tomatoes gain flavor and can be used for cooking.
Drying tomatoes in the sun
In sunny weather, tomatoes can be dried in the sun. The main thing is to choose a suitable variety of tomatoes, small with dense pulp and elastic skin. Cut each fruit into four parts, remove the seeds.
Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with foil. The foil will reflect the sun's rays and thereby speed up the drying process. Generously salt the fruits prepared for drying. Place the baking tray in the sun. The drying process will be long, it will take at least 7 days. It’s not bad if the baking sheet is in a draft. A draft speeds up drying.
We finish drying when the slices have lost almost all moisture and have decreased by more than half of their original volume. We will store sun-dried tomatoes in small jars. Sprinkle Provençal herbs at the bottom of the jar, add chopped garlic and a little black pepper. Place a layer of dried tomatoes. Sprinkle with a layer of garlic and spices. Repeat layers until the jar is full. Pour olive or vegetable oil over the preparation and store in the cold.
The shelf life of sun-dried tomatoes is 6 months.
Tips for use
There are many options for using dried vegetables. Vegetarians can use them to cook cabbage soup, bake potatoes, and fry rice cutlets.You can bake bread, fry pancakes, bake delicious foccacho flatbreads. What can we say about the unforgettable taste of salads with sun-dried tomatoes - there are many recipes for them. A simple breakfast will turn into a holiday if you make a sandwich with cheese and dried yummy, with the smell of garlic and basil.
