Recipes for harvesting sun-dried tomatoes for the winter from Julia Vysotskaya
Sun-dried tomatoes from Julia Vysotskaya - a recipe for gourmets, for those who are interested in Mediterranean cuisine. Lovers of traditional Russian cuisine should also try this recipe. You will only benefit if there are sun-dried tomatoes in their own juice on the refrigerator shelf next to a jar of pickled tomatoes.
The best varieties of tomatoes for drying
It must be said right away that not all varieties grown in open ground or in greenhouses are suitable for cooking according to the recipe of Julia Vysotskaya. She recommends taking only small tomatoes. Lettuce tomatoes are definitely not suitable - you need canning varieties with a thin, durable skin and dense pulp.
From domestic varieties, Julia recommends all kinds of small tomatoes. Cherry will do too. Keep in mind that overripe fruits will definitely not work. Select only dense, elastic and shiny.
About spices
The basis of Mediterranean cuisine is spices. Sun-dried vegetables prepared in sunny Italy are a masterpiece of taste thanks to spices. But we, living in Siberia or the Urals, can also cook something similar.
Following the recommendations of Julia Vysotskaya, tomatoes for the winter according to her recipe can be seasoned with black pepper and basil. She takes basil not only dried, but also fresh, just picked from the garden.
It is worth listening to one more of her advice. She prefers purple basil varieties. In her opinion, the spicy notes of purple basil varieties are better revealed during heat treatment.
Any salt will not work, especially fortified with iodine. If you want to get high-quality sun-dried tomatoes, purchase good sea salt for harvesting - there is a large selection of it in supermarkets.
How to cook sun-dried tomatoes according to Julia Vysotskaya's recipe
Buy on the market or pick tomatoes, red cream, small size in your garden. Wash and dry the fruits. Choose a suitable cooking container. This can be either a baking sheet or a large-diameter pan.
You can do tomatoes: wash, let the water drain, cut each tomato in half. The seeds that are inside will have to be removed; use a teaspoon for this. We don't need this pulp. Place the halves tightly on a baking sheet. We place the notch up.
It's time to prepare the dressing. To do this, take a mortar and pestle. We will grind the spices. First, sparingly pour black peppercorns, followed by dried basil, a large pinch of coarse sea salt and, at the very end, chopped fresh basil.
We clean the garlic and send it to other spices. By the way, the more garlic, the better.When cooked, it gives tomatoes a wonderful taste and aroma. We grind all this with a pestle until smooth, which we spread over the tomatoes. Should be enough for everyone.
There comes a crucial moment, without which the recipe for sun-dried tomatoes will not correspond to the recipe of Julia Vysotskaya. It's time to season the dish with olive oil. The author of the recipe advises choosing refined olive oil. Water generously, as the halves should be 2/3 immersed in oil.
Preheat the oven to 190 ° and send the baking sheet into it. We will dry for at least 3 hours. According to Julia, the more tomatoes are in the oven, the better.
Dried tomatoes cooked on an electric dryer
Do you have an electric dryer? It is very good. Try a recipe sun-dried tomatoes in an electric dryer, and there will always be a jar of yummy in the fridge. We collect tomatoes suitable for drying, wash them and start cutting.
Cut across into slices 1 cm thick. Do not wither too thin slices. Place the tomato mugs on the grate of the dryer and start it up. While the process is going on, we are engaged in filling.
The first dressing option will be with garlic. We clean two heads, chop them in a garlic press. Put the garlic mass in a bowl, season with salt and grind with a spoon until smooth. As the second dressing, we will use the Provence herbs seasoning.
We take out the dried tomatoes from the dryer. We will fill the first jar with garlic dressing. Put alternately a layer of tomato, a layer of dressing and so on to the very top. Crush the layers with a spoon. When the jar is filled to the top, fill the contents with olive oil, close the jar with a lid.
We fill the second jar in the same way, but instead of garlic dressing, salt each layer and sprinkle with Provencal herbs. Pour oil into the filled jar. We put the cans in the refrigerator. Only after two weeks the tomatoes will gain flavor, they can be used for cooking.
Drying tomatoes in the sun
In sunny weather, tomatoes can be dried in the sun. The main thing is to choose a suitable variety of tomatoes, a small one with dense pulp, elastic skin. Cut each fruit into four parts, remove the seeds.
Place the slices on a baking sheet covered with foil. The foil will reflect the sun's rays and thus speed up the drying process. Salt the fruits prepared for drying. Expose the baking sheet to the sun. The drying process will be long, it will take at least 7 days. It's good if the baking sheet is in a draft. Draft speeds up drying.
Finish drying when the slices have lost almost all moisture, reduced by more than half of the original volume. We will store sun-dried tomatoes in small jars. Pour Provencal herbs at the bottom of the jar, put chopped garlic and a little black pepper. Lay a layer of dried tomatoes. Sprinkle with a layer of garlic and spices. Repeat the layers until the jar is full. Pour the preparation with olive or vegetable oil, keep in the cold.
The term of consumption of sun-dried tomatoes is 6 months.
Application Tips
There are many options for using dried vegetables. Vegetarians can cook cabbage soup with them, bake potatoes, fry rice cutlets. You can bake bread, fry pancakes, bake delicious focacho tortillas. What to say about the unforgettable taste of salads with sun-dried tomatoes - there are many recipes for them. A simple breakfast will turn into a holiday if you make a sandwich with cheese and jerky, with the smell of garlic and basil.
