Oven Dried Heirloom Tomatoes Food

ROASTED HEIRLOOM TOMATOES WITH FETA AND HERBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F.
• Slice tomatoes and arrange in a mostly single layer in a 9x13-inch pan, slightly overlapping here and there. Halve the cherry tomatoes and scatter them about in between the slices (I like to keep them seed-side up). Slice feta into about three 1/2-inch slices and tuck them between the tomato slices, then scatter some crumbled feta over-top. Drizzle the the olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and if you like, a pinch of sugar (to bring out the sweetness in the tomatoes).
• Roast the tomatoes in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or just until the tomatoes have released their liquid, but are still holding their shape and colour. Remove from the oven and let stand a few minutes. Spoon off and discard the liquid in the pan (if you want to serve from the pan) or using a slotted, flat spatula, carefully transfer the tomatoes and feta to a serving platter. *At this point, you can serve the tomatoes while they are still warm, but I think they are nicest at about room temperature, if you want to let them stand to cool further.
• When ready to serve, drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with chopped herbs.

OVEN-DRIED HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Fit a rimmed baking sheet with a wire rack. Place tomato slices on rack and drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and bake until dry and wrinkled, about 3 hours.

MARTHA'S OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Fit 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets with wire racks. Divide tomato slices evenly between racks. Drizzle both sides with oil. Season with salt and pepper; scatter thyme over top.
• Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until tomatoes are dry (but not crisp) and wrinkled, about 3 1/2 hours. Let cool completely.
• Transfer tomatoes to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet; freeze until firm. Stack in airtight containers and freeze up to 1 year.

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a pan with parchment; for thinnest chips, use a Silpat baking mat. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, on pan, spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar and herbs; season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer pan to oven; dry until juices have stopped running, edges are shriveled, and pieces have shrunken slightly; timing will vary depending on the variety, ripeness, and desired degree of dryness, 1 1/2 to 6 hours. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 3 days, or frozen, for up to 6 weeks.

OVEN-DRIED HEIRLOOM TOMATO PIZZA

Steps:

• Place a pizza stone (available at most kitchen-supply stores) on floor of a gas oven (remove racks) or bottom rack of electric oven. Preheat oven to at least 500 degrees for 1 hour.
• Shape dough into a round. Holding top edge of dough round in both hands, let bottom edge touch work surface. Carefully move hands around edge to form a circle, as if turning a wheel. Hold dough on back of your hand, letting its weight stretch it into a 12-inch round. Transfer dough to a pizza peel (or an inverted baking sheet) lightly dusted with semolina flour. Press out edges using your fingers. Jerk peel; if dough sticks, lift, and dust more flour underneath.
• Drizzle olive oil over pizza dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange cheese evenly over olive oil. Top with tomatoes and basil; season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oven to broil. Align edge of peel with edge of stone. Tilt peel, jerking it gently to move pizza. When edge of pizza touches stone, quickly pull back peel to transfer pizza to stone. (Do not move pizza). Broil until crust begins to bubble, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce temperature to 500 degrees, and bake until crust is crisp and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes more. (If not using broiler, bake pizza for 10 to 15 minutes total.) Remove pizza from oven using peel; drizzle with additional olive oil, if desired. Slice and serve.

ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper over the tomatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are concentrated and beginning to caramelize. Serve warm or at room temperature.

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Halve 2 pounds plum tomatoes lengthwise. Place cut-side up on a baking sheet, season with salt and let stand 20 minutes. Roast in a 250 degrees F oven until slightly dry but still juicy, about 4 hours. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme.

OVEN-DRIED-TOMATO STECCA RECIPE

Steps:

• Dry tomatoes: If your tomatoes are medium or large, cut away the stem, cut them in half, and scoop or squeeze out the juice and seeds, reserving the tomato guts for the dough. Then cut the tomatoes into bite-size pieces about ¼-inch thick. If you are using cherry tomatoes, you can just nick them to squeeze out the guts, then cut them in half. Drying is easiest with a dehydrator. If you have one, set it to medium (about 150°F) and dehydrate the tomatoes for several hours until semi-dry but still flexible. Or place the tomatoes on wire racks in an oven set as low as it goes and dry for several hours. You could also go old school and place the tomatoes on a wire rack, cover them with cheesecloth, then allow them to air-dry outside on a warm, sunny day or in a sunny window until ready to use. This method will take several days. You don't want them leathery like fully dehydrated tomatoes, just more concentrated and less watery than fresh tomatoes.
• Mix dough: Weigh the flour and the remaining ingredients, including the tomato guts. If you're short on tomato guts, make up the difference with water. We'll be mixing by hand, so everything will go into a mixing bowl.
• Combine the tomato guts, water, oil, yeast, poolish, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spoon, dough scraper, or your hands, scraping the bottom of the bowl to hydrate all the flour. Keep mixing by stirring, folding, and breaking up the dough for another 3 minutes. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Then add the salt and repeat mixing (breaking up and folding the dough) for 3 minutes. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Then add the oven-dried tomatoes and mix again for 3 minutes. Finally, cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Then transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container with a lid and room for the dough to double in volume. Put on the lid and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Do a four-fold: Think of the dough as having a middle and four sides. If the dough is sticky, wet your hand to prevent sticking, then make your hand like a paddle (or just use a dough scraper) and dig it down one side of the container. Scoop up the dough, stretching just a little to create some tension. Then flop that section onto the center of the dough.
• Give the container a quarter turn and repeat the stretch-and-fold action. Repeat until all four sides are folded. The dough should now appear less slack and have some more height. (At this point, we like to flip the dough over, so the folds are on the bottom and the smooth side is on top. This helps to hold more tension in the bulk shape, a good thing for overall structure.)
• Return the container to the fridge for 8 to 24 hours. On the short end of that range, the dough will be bubbly and well risen, and on the long end, it may be more wobbly and on the brink of collapse. Try not to let it go too long.
• Shape: Pull the dough from the fridge. At this point, it should be very bubbly and inflated. Place a large baking stone on a rack, preferably near the top of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Have a couche, sheet pan or large cutting board, and a bench knife ready. Dust a section of countertop liberally with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Dust the top of the dough with more flour. This is a sticky dough, so be prepared to handle it lightly. Coax the dough from an oval into a loose rectangle, then divide the dough in half, bisecting the long sides. Divide each piece again to make four strips of dough, about 3 by 10 inches. Dust all the cut edges with flour. Roll each strip over once to ensure it is evenly coated with flour, then gently lift it onto the couche. Leave about an inch of fabric between each strip, lifting the fabric so that each strip of dough supports the other with folds of fabric between them. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Assemble your toppings, in this case, the olive oil and salt. Cut a sheet of parchment paper that will fit over the back side of a half sheet pan to use as a peel, then gently transfer two of the loaves to the parchment. If the dough has been very active, put the remaining two loaves in the fridge to slow the fermentation down a bit. Dock the stecca all over by poking your fingers down into the dough, almost all the way through. As the bread rises in the oven, it will push the indentations up, sometimes squeezing them out entirely, so you want nice, deep dimples. Drizzle the stecca with the oil, then sprinkle with the salt from high up for even distribution.
• Bake: Load the stecca into the oven by sliding the parchment paper onto the stone. Bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the loaves as necessary for even browning, then bake for an additional 5 minutes. When done, the crust color should be medium tan. Pull the stecca out and transfer to a rack to cool. Give the oven 5 minutes to rebound, then begin assembling your second round to bake.
• Stecca are great fresh, but they'll keep all right for a few days in a bag or box at room temperature. After day one, refresh them in a 350°F oven for a few minutes for the best flavor and texture.

EASY "OVEN" SUN DRIED HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

Steps:

• Remove the hard stem from each tomato, and cut each tomato crosswise. Upside down give each tomato a squeeze to remove seeds, using your finger to scoop out any lingering seeds.
• Place each tomato face up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Put 1/2 tsp of sugar in each tomato.
• season each tomato with salt and pepper.
• Drizzle all the tomatoes with olive oil.
• Bake in a 180 degree oven for 6 hours on the middle shelf.
• Pack in olive oil when cold, and freeze or refrigerate.