Dried Tomatoes à la Provençal
People often say that I have a "green thumb". I was never really serious in planting but I had quite some successes with them in the past; As a kid I remember succeeded in growing vegetables from what my mom used to throw away when she prepares some vegetable dishes; from ampalaya seeds (bittermelon), squash seeds to kangkong stalks (water spinach) without really putting much effort. Our balcony in Tokyo, had a flowering geranium and stargazers all year-round, much to my husband's surprise. I dont really have a secret I just plant them and wait that they grow.
But when I met my dad-in-law everything changed. When he pulls out his toga costume and
puts down his judge's mallet he metamorphosizes into a certified gardener. Adieu with my "anything goes planting techniques and attitudes". "I can't plant this with this soil, or better check a shady area to grow this or I need to nip some leaves if I want them to bear fruit; those were his normal "unsolicited" comments. Don't get me wrong he is really nice and helpful and I truly admire him. And besides he is a judge, what can we expect. :-) Well every summer in the garden of my in-laws we are given a small spot to cultivate any green of our choice. And last summer we decided to plant italian tomatoes. That summer I gave birth andI never had the chance to blog about this.
puts down his judge's mallet he metamorphosizes into a certified gardener. Adieu with my "anything goes planting techniques and attitudes". "I can't plant this with this soil, or better check a shady area to grow this or I need to nip some leaves if I want them to bear fruit; those were his normal "unsolicited" comments. Don't get me wrong he is really nice and helpful and I truly admire him. And besides he is a judge, what can we expect. :-) Well every summer in the garden of my in-laws we are given a small spot to cultivate any green of our choice. And last summer we decided to plant italian tomatoes. That summer I gave birth andI never had the chance to blog about this.
When I heard about Andrea's monthly food blogging event Grow Your Own that celebrates food that we grow ourselves, I knew that this is my time to shine. Ooops, I mean my dad-in-law to shine :-) But what do you do when you have more than fifty kilos of tomatoes at hand? You eat them in salad every lunch. You cook some in your pasta sauces. Well the rest you throw them in the oven and make own home-made dried tomatoes.
Last batch of tomatoes harvested looked like this..photo courtesy of my dad-in-law
Oven-dried Tomatoes à la Provençal
(Tomato confit à la Provençal)
1 kg of italian tomatoes
1 head of garlic
some fresh rosemary and thymes (Herbes de Provence)
salt and pepper
5 tbsp of Olive oil
Put the tomatoes in the boiling water for 8 seconds then take them off. Put them afterwards in a bowl of cold water. This process will help you peel off the tomato skin easily. Cut the tomatoes into two and remove the seeds. Season about half a tsp of salt and pepper over the cut tomatoes. Put them carefully (allow enough space in between) in baking dish. Drizzle it with olive oil and fresh thymes and rosemary. Add the thinly sliced garlic. Cook slowly in a pre-heated oven at 100° for two hours and thirty minutes.
Keep them in a jar filled with olive oil in your fridge. You can use these dried tomatoes in all your pizzas, salad and pasta recipes.
A lyrical composition of spaghetti noodles tossed in the
delicious harmony of sliced kohlrabi, sweet pumpkin and dried tomatoes..
such a lovely note in the belly!!
such a lovely note in the belly!!
For my dear french readers, you will find the french version on lesfoodies.com here: http://www.lesfoodies.com/news/recette/tomates-confites-la-provencale
36 comments:
well-done with your tomato harvest, they're such beauties.
i love semi-dried tomatoes. that spaghetti looks scrumptious!
Great idea to grow your own. You're sure you're getting the healthiest ones.
BTW, updated my Red Ribbon post with a closeup shot of the banoffee pie.
I am like you too. I throw some seeds and they grow somehow! My husband on the other hand, prepares the ground and goes at it meticulously!:D
Great crop, we got plenty of Ash Gourd and Tomatoes too but I just use them all, never tried to dry them. Great idea to dry for Winter and looks great in recipes too!:)
maybahay,he heh thanks to my dad in law..its his wisdom that helped us harvested that much :-)
emdy, we try to grow veggies of our own as much as possible coz unfortunately the one we find in groceries doesnt have taste at all..most of them are cultivated in big factories..:-(
asha, he he nice to know we are the same..but with my case i throw the seeds and my husband just eats the harvest
clap! clap! clap!.... this is something I want for so long! thank you!
ayayayayayyyyy!!!
gorgeous pictures, dhanggit!
my mouth watered as i could almost taste the savory sweetness/tartness of the tomatoes!
btw,
a few of your regular readers who also happen to be bloggers will be having dinner together this saturday night.
we'll make sure to take lots of pictures (of ourselves and of the food), wish you could join us soon!
Your tomatoes look divine! Dried tomatoes are one of my real favourite foods, I can just string them in. And your spaghetti with khlorabi, pumkin and tomatoes is, like you say, lyrical!
Ronell
great recipe dhanggit! who needs the sun when you can dry tomatoes in the oven;)
Hi, Dhanggit. You can see literally taste the flavor in these lovely photos. Such rich and robust reds.
You are too funny discussing your FIL. My uncle was a judge. I recall being tickled seeing him mowing the lawn w/out a shirt on, a clear departure from the fit, serious figure he cut in his robe.
that last pic is lyrical indeed. garden grown tomatoes have the best flavour.
Oh I love tomatoes. One year I had 10 tomato plants and was devastated when gigantic caterpillars the size of my fingers munched on them all. One literally ate half a big tomato! :(
I'm so jealous of your wonderful tomato bounty. Do you have any special tips for growing tomatoes?
bigboysoven, dont worry next summer harvest, i might probably send some over..hehehe :-)
spanx, really this saturday night..i hope you will take lots of photos..coz i will just join you virtually..hope you will organize again by march..i'll be in Manila then
hi ronell thanks for dropping by, i love dried tomatoes and vegetables..they are a sweet music in my belly :-)
burntlumpia, it was my hubby's idea, i never knew it was possible in the first place
hi susan dear, i would love to see my FIL without shirt on their garden too..it will be like watching santa without his red suit.hahaha
bee, i love garden grown tomatoes they are always the best!!
gigi, i wish i could share to you but this is top secret..heheh im kidding , its my dad in-law who helped us out..if i remember it right the secret is the right time of planting them on the small pots and waiting for few weeks before transferring them on your chosen space..the variety we planted demanded plenty of water too..but we avoided to give too much as this affects the taste of tomato..according to my DIL :-)
Those tomatoes look so good! I never thought of kohlrabi with spaghetti. I must try it one of these days, very light and sounds healthy too. Thanks for the wonderful idea Dhanggit.
wandering chopsticks..oh thats too bad to hear :-(, you should have tried to eat the big caterpillar..heheh im kidding..my DIL is using a type of an insect that protected our tomatoes from caterpillar..
oggi, hi dear..well honestly i never thought that kohlrabi will blend well on my pasta but it did..heheh
Beautiful tomatoes, and the last photo is wonderful! I do love homegrown tomatoes, and it sounds like you had a bumper crop. Thanks for a scrumptious entry for Grow Your Own!
Oh I so love dried tomatoes Hilda I can finish them in one sitting ! Kaka addict talaga :D ! So EB kayo ni Makis, that would be great! I just hope to meet you before you leave sana. I wanted to give you some baby stuffs for your Mayumi ;) !
Lovely pictures and really yummy recipe Dhanggit, so nice. I really love tomatoes,I think of the summer are delicious!!! xxx Gloria
Those dried tomatoes with garlic and herbs look so good! I bet they are super tasty!
Lovely! I love this, btw, it's 100'F or 'C? My lowest oven temp. is 170'F, so how?
What a lovely harvest that is. I always envy anybody who can grow their own stuff. Lucky you.
I love tomatoes but unfortunately, I don't get a chance to grow my own. In the first place, I don't have green fingers to start.
Love your presentation. Like a piece of art :)
A lovely note in the belly, indeed! How perfect. I love this recipe, I want Mr. Cakespy to make it for me!
I am so jealous! Those tomatoes are beautiful!
I think I'm going to come live in France with you. :)
The recipes sounds amazing. I mean, this is my style of cooking and eating. I love tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, rosemary.
Roasted tomatoes are my new simple pleasures...pic has pictured their essence well!
Well done on your GYO tomatoes!! Hubby & I also grow our own toms too in summer.
I wish I could just pop into your kitchen and sample some of your delicious tomatoes :D
Gorgeous pictures dhanggit drooling all the way viewing this post!!
Rosie x
Your oven-dried tomatoes look gorgeous! What a bountiful harvest!
wow, sarap ng mga pagkain dito naka kagutom. add kita sa link ko ha.. hope u don't mind. maraming salamat din sa dalaw mo:)
hmm yum yumm!! you're such a very good photographer, i love the photos and of course the foods...looks so delicious! You're such a very good cook..keep it up!
Very nice composition :)
Margot
Andrea, thanks for organizing too this event...
Haze, ok next summer i'll bring you some :-)
Gloria, hello dear, in France we still need to wait quite a while before summer..:-(
Kevin, yup, i think the advantage of drying them in oven is that they are less dried..and really good!!
Littlecorner ofmine, its 100 degrees celsius..according to the conversion its about 212 degrees fahrenheit
Cakespy, im he will!!! :-)
Emiline, you are welcome dear..a good cook like you is always welcome..
PeterM, thanks for dropping by
Rosie, i think its a nice passion for couple..each one of us have our own spot to grow...that way we dont argue..hahahaha
Anita, im wondrin what we will plant next year though...
Amy, i added you up already in my link..thanks for dropping by too
Lucille, thanks :-)
Margot, thanks for dropping by
"A sweet music in the belly"... how perfectly said. Lovely post and photos!
It's nice to know you'll be visiting the country soon.=)
We'll be posting about our dinner (with Spanx) in a while too and hopefully in March we can do this again with you naman.=)
Those tomatoes are lovely. It's a good thing you're there to make sure nothing goes to waste!
What a superb harvest of tomatoes Dhanggit! The closest I've come to gardening is watering my colleagues tomato plants one summer whilst she was away. I watched them grow and I was so proud of my watering efforts. Alas that was the extent of my 'green thumb'. I do dream of my own herb garden...one day. I'll get there :)
I don't have a green finger. Even the plants i recieve from guest dies in my home.
The whole family members laught about this. :-)
Lovely! I grow my own tomatoes and dry them in the oven too (http://straightfromthefarm.wordpress.com/2007/09/19/squirreling-it-away/). I didn't put mine in oil though since I don't have much space for jars in my pantry. Instead I've kept them in sealed plastic bags and let them soak in oil a bit before I need to use them. When summer in here in the States rolls around again, I'll have to try your spaghetti combination with the kohlrabi we grow on the farm.
Post a Comment