Oven-“Dried” Cherry Tomatoes

These oven dried cherry tomatoes can be used as a condiment, or as a sauce for pasta, or served on rice. They are easy to make, and when baked in a slow oven, the natural sweetness of the tomatoes becomes more intense and the result is delicious.

Ingredients:

• cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1-2 cloves of garlic sliced
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• coarse (kosher) salt
• dried thyme

Preparation:

1. Wash and slice cherry tomatoes in half
2. Put a sheet of baking (parchment) paper on a big baking tin ( whatever size will be suitable for the amount of tomatoes used.
3. Spread the halved tomatoes evenly on the baking paper on pan.
4. Sprinkle coarse salt evenly over the tomatoes
5. Sprinkle thyme evenly over the tomatoes
6. Pour a few “shpritz’s” of olive oil on the tomatoes.
7. Place the sliced garlic in between the tomatoes throughout the pan.
8. Pour a few “shpritz’s” of balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes and garlic.
9. Bake in a slow oven (about 130 C or approx. 265 F) for about 2 hours, uncovered. Make sure that the heat is not too high. The relatively low heat will ensure the intensification of the natural sweetness of the tomatoes. If you feel that the oven is too hot and the tomatoes are cooking too fast, lower the heat.
10. As the tomatoes bake, the edges may brown slightly, and this is fine.
11. Make sure that the garlic doesn’t burn – you may mix the tomatoes with the garlic slices once or twice while baking, to make sure that the garlic  is moistened and doesn’t burn.
12. When ready, take out of the oven, and place in a glass or plastic box. The oven-dried cherry tomatoes may be served on pasta (together with all the juices that are in the pan), or on rice, or as a condiment at a meal. It may be refrigerated for a few days in a closed box.

TIP: The same recipe can be used for regular red tomatoes, also sliced in half. They are seasoned and baked in the same way, and can be served as a vegetable at dinner, arranged on a serving dish.