Oven dried Tomatoes: Ode to summer's green revolution and tomato invasion


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.



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!!
 
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:

desie said...

well-done with your tomato harvest, they're such beauties.
i love semi-dried tomatoes. that spaghetti looks scrumptious!

docemdy said...

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.

FH said...

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!:)

Chibog in Chief said...

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

Big Boys Oven said...

clap! clap! clap!.... this is something I want for so long! thank you!

spanx said...

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!

Anonymous said...

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

Anonymous said...

great recipe dhanggit! who needs the sun when you can dry tomatoes in the oven;)

Susan said...

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.

bee said...

that last pic is lyrical indeed. garden grown tomatoes have the best flavour.

Wandering Chopsticks said...

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! :(

Gigi said...

I'm so jealous of your wonderful tomato bounty. Do you have any special tips for growing tomatoes?

Chibog in Chief said...

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 :-)

Oggi said...

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.

Chibog in Chief said...

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

Andrea said...

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!

haze said...

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 ;) !

Gloria Baker said...

Lovely pictures and really yummy recipe Dhanggit, so nice. I really love tomatoes,I think of the summer are delicious!!! xxx Gloria

test it comm said...

Those dried tomatoes with garlic and herbs look so good! I bet they are super tasty!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Lovely! I love this, btw, it's 100'F or 'C? My lowest oven temp. is 170'F, so how?

Shella said...

What a lovely harvest that is. I always envy anybody who can grow their own stuff. Lucky you.

tigerfish said...

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 :)

Cakespy said...

A lovely note in the belly, indeed! How perfect. I love this recipe, I want Mr. Cakespy to make it for me!

Emily said...

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.

Peter M said...

Roasted tomatoes are my new simple pleasures...pic has pictured their essence well!

Rosie said...

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

Anita said...

Your oven-dried tomatoes look gorgeous! What a bountiful harvest!

Amy said...

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:)

Anonymous said...

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!

Coffee and Vanilla said...

Very nice composition :)
Margot

Chibog in Chief said...

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

Anonymous said...

"A sweet music in the belly"... how perfectly said. Lovely post and photos!

Ruy said...

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!

ilingc said...

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 :)

Finla said...

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. :-)

Jennie said...

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.