Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil

Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil are a lovely way to preserve and enjoy either homegrown or bought tomatoes.

Dried in the oven for around one and a half hours, they have the intense flavour of sun-dried tomatoes but retain much of their juiciness.

Stored in the fridge in a herb and garlic scented oil they will keep for seven to ten days.

Add to pasta and salads, scatter over pizza and bruschetta, or eat with cheeses, cold meats etc. And don’t forget to use the oil in cooking or salad dressings, for dipping into with bread, or drizzling over feta cheese.

Jump to Recipe

I’ve had Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil on my list of preserves to make since the beginning of the year.

I’d been expecting a bumper crop of homegrown tomatoes as, for once, I’d got myself organised with four different varieties of seed.

By the summer, the plants had set lots of fruit and we had weeks and weeks of hot, sunny weather.

‘Here we go’, I thought, planning on making a big batch of my hugely popular Smoky Tomato-Chilli Chutney as well as Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil.

However, I’d forgotten what I learned last year. When the temperature really shoots up, tomatoes do not ripen.

Consequently, at the time of writing, I’ve only managed to pick a handful of homegrown tomatoes.

But the great thing about semi-dried tomatoes is that you only need 400-450 grams to make it worthwhile.

So, although I won’t be making any chutney just yet, I added to my mini harvest some organic tomatoes from my Moorland Veg Box delivery.

This was just the right amount to make one standard sized jar of Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil.

As this is a preserve for short term storage only, it’s best to only make what you’ll eat in a week to ten days anyway.

So easy, this lovely little preserve takes hardly any work.

Yes, you’ll need to be around to check how the tomatoes are doing in the oven.

But, considering how good these flavourful morsels turn out, the rewards far outweigh even the teeny effort.

You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. If you’re ready to go there now, here’s a link: Jump to Recipe

PREPARING THE TOMATOES

I recommend you use small, cherry-type tomatoes for this recipe as they take a relatively short time to semi-dry in the oven.

To prepare the tomatoes wash and destalk them and cut in half through the ‘equator’.

Next, toss them in a little olive oil plus your chosen seasonings.

I’ve used dried oregano, dried basil, salt, black pepper, and half a teaspoon of sugar.

I would resist the urge to add too many dried herbs at this point. They can easily burn in the oven.

It’s best to add half now and half later just before the tomatoes are packed into their jar.

OVEN-SEMI-DRYING THE TOMATOES

The tomato halves are placed in a single layer on a lined tray and popped into a preheated oven.

Because we’re only semi-drying them, we don’t need the very low temperature used for replicating sun-dried tomatoes.

I dry them at 120C in my fan oven (140C in non-fan / gas 1).

Unlike fully dried tomatoes they also won’t need to be in there for hours and hours.

Depending on the size of your tomatoes and how dry you want them, an hour and a half will probably be plenty.

This leaves them with much of the moisture evaporated but still with some juicyness.

I think this amount of time gives a much nicer texture than the slight leathery-ness sun-dried tomatoes can have.

Before we finish seasoning the tomatoes and covering them with oil, we need to cool them down.

I transfer them, baking paper and all, into the fridge where they don’t take long to get completely cold.

Then I tip them into a bowl for the final step.

SEASONING & STORING

I like a garlic flavour to my Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil, and I prep it while the tomatoes are in the oven.

For this amount of tomatoes, I take three garlic cloves and slice them very thinly. These are put into a tiny saucepan and boiled for about three minutes. This makes them a little milder, a little softer and should help to kill any lurking bugs. After draining the slices, I pop them in the fridge until needed.

To complete the final seasoning, I mix the semi-dried tomatoes with:

• 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar (use Balsamic or red wine vinegar if you prefer)
• the prepared garlic slices
• the remaining dried oregano and basil
• half a teaspoon of Aleppo pepper flakes (omit, or use chilli flakes if you want more heat)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

At this point, have a taste using a clean spoon. Does it need more salt, pepper, or herbs?

Adjust the seasoning as necessary, then pack into a clean, sterilized jar (I tell you how to sterilize a jar in the recipe card at the end).

To help prevent the growth of bacteria you’ll need to top up the jar with more oil so that tomatoes and garlic are completely covered.

The amount of oil needed will depend on the size of your jar and how much the tomatoes have shrunk.

To keep costs down, I used half and half extra virgin olive oil and sunflower oil to cover the tomatoes.

Finally, give it a good stir with a kebab skewer or chopstick. This should get rid of any air pockets and ensure everything is coated in a protective layer of oil.

When that’s done, you can put on a lid and store the Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil in the fridge.

USING SEMI-DRIED TOMATOES IN OIL

As I outlined in the introduction to this post, there’s a huge number of uses for these wonderful little flavour bombs.

I tried some of my first batch on a classic bruschetta.

I toasted a slice of homemade sourdough bread and covered it with torn mozzarella. Then I dotted it with tomatoes and slices of the garlic and added a few basil leaves. A drizzle of oil from the jar, a grind of pepper and it was hugely satisfying.

The intense flavour of the tomatoes is so worth the small amount of work needed to produce them.

Other ways to use the tomatoes include:

• Stir through pasta, along with some of the oil, and toss with grated Parmesan
• Add to salads
• Slip inside a cheese and onion toastie
• Stir through cooked grains like quinoa or bulgur wheat
• Add to creamy sauces for fish or chicken
• Scatter over cooked pizza
• Eat with cheeses and cold meats

Remember that the tomatoes and garlic should kept completely covered with oil. So, after each use, add a bit more oil if necessary.

But that flavoursome oil shouldn’t be wasted. Include some in salad dressings, dip into it with bread, or drizzle over feta cheese or fried halloumi.

Whether you grow your own or want to intensify the flavour of bought tomatoes, I’d love you to try these wonderful Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil.

Leave a comment to let me know how it went and don’t forget to rate the recipe!

Made this recipe? Share a photo on Instagram and tag @moorlandseater

5 from 2 votes

Print

Semi-Dried Tomatoes in Oil

A lovely way to enjoy homegrown or bought tomatoes. Dried in the oven they have the intense flavour of sun-dried tomatoes but retain much of their juiciness.

Stored in the fridge in their herb and garlic scented oil they'll keep 7-10 days.

Course Preserve

Cuisine Italian

Keyword tomatoes, oven-dried

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings 1 medium jar

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 450 g small tomatoes washed; stalks removed
• ½ tsp sugar optional
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• extra virgin olive oil (see instructions for amounts) see Recipe Note #1
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or Balsamic or red wine vinegar
• ½-1 tsp Aleppo pepper or dried chilli flakes optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 140C / 120 Fan / gas 1.

   Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Wash a medium sized jar and its lid in hot, soapy water, rinse and leave to drain.

3. Slice the tomatoes in half through their 'equator' and put into a bowl.

   Sprinkle with the sugar if using plus the salt, pepper and HALF of the dried oregano and basil.

   Drizzle over half a tablespoon of the olive oil then mix everything together.

   Place the tomatoes, cut side up, in a single layer on the baking tray.

   Put in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

   (Do step 5 while they're in the oven).

   After 1 hour, check to see if the tomatoes are dried to your liking. Ideally, most of the moisture should have evaporated away, but they should still be a little juicy.

   If they still look very moist in the centres, put back in the oven and continue cooking and checking every 10 minutes (they may need another 30 minutes depending on size).

   When the tomatoes are done, transfer them on their baking parchment to the fridge to cool.

4. Once the tomatoes are out of the oven, turn the temperature down to its lowest setting. Put the washed and drained jar plus its lid on a small baking tray into the oven.

   When they are hot, remove and leave to cool.

5. While the tomatoes are in the oven, peel and thinly slice the garlic cloves.

   Put into a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 3 minutes.

   Drain and set aside in the fridge.

6. Once cold, put the semi-dried tomatoes into a bowl and add the prepared garlic slices.

   Stir in the wine vinegar.

   Add the remaining half teaspoon each of dried oregano and basil, plus the Aleppo or chilli flakes if using, and 3 tablespoons of olive oil

   Mix everything together well, then take a clean spoon and taste. Add more seasoning if necessary.

7. Transfer the contents of the bowl to the cold jar.

   Pour over enough oil to completely cover the tomatoes and garlic.

   Stir with a skewer or chopstick to get rid of any air pockets and ensure everything has a coating of oil.

   Make sure the tomatoes and garlic are back down under the oil before screwing on the lid.

8. Store in the fridge and use within 7-10 days.

   If the oil solidifies, bring the jar to room temperature before using.

   After each use, top up with more oil if needed to keep the tomatoes and garlic completely covered.

Recipe Notes

Note #1 Replace half of the extra virgin olive oil with a lighter, cheaper oil (e.g. sunflower) if you like.

Enjoyed this post? You may also like these