Italy is famous for its cuisine all over the world. It was in this country that they came up with delicious dishes that we all enjoy ordering at restaurants and cooking in our kitchen today. One of the pearls of Italian cuisine is sun-dried tomatoes. It is strange why they have not gained as wide popularity with us as tiramisu or Margarita pizza. After all, this product is able to give any dish a unique taste accent and aroma. By the way, you can find a jar of this yummy in almost all major supermarkets, only it will cost a lot, and the taste is not a fact that it will be what real Italian sun-dried tomatoes have. Their recipe, fortunately, is not a secret, so the best idea would be to cook them at home yourself.
This delicacy is prepared in various ways: in the sun, in the oven or in a special dryer. And with the advent of new culinary technology, many housewives learned to make sun-dried tomatoes in a slow cooker. It will make the cooking process even simpler and faster. But before considering directly the algorithm of actions for drying tomatoes, we list the necessary components for this dish.
Naturally, these are the tomatoes themselves. They should not be large. Ideal are those that look like cream, as well as round, reminiscent of grapes. Delicious and dried cherry tomatoes. The recipe also involves the use of various herbs and spices. They give vegetables a special, unique flavor. We will take the following seasonings:
- black pepper and salt (this is a classic);
- garlic;
- herbs, both dried and fresh (for example, rosemary, basil, thyme, marjoram, savory, oregano, etc.).
To start, the tomatoes should be washed and dried. Further, if they are larger (cream), cut them into quarters, if small - into halves. Now we take a slow cooker and use its three parts: the main bowl, the steam plate and the steam hinged bowl. We lay out prepared vegetables with the cut up.
In a separate bowl we prepare dressing: mix pepper, salt and sugar in the proportions of 2: 3: 5. For example, a spoon of pepper, 1.5 - salt, 2.5 - sugar. The latter is needed to give a taste, since during the cooking process the tomatoes will become more acidic than they were originally. Sprinkle vegetables evenly with this mixture, then herbs and chopped garlic. Spray lightly with olive oil.
Sun-dried tomatoes are cooked in a slow cooker in the "Baking" mode. Set the temperature to 80-100 degrees. You will decide on the duration yourself, occasionally glancing at the consistency of tomatoes - do you want more juicy and fleshy or drier vegetables. After a couple of hours, the sun-dried tomatoes in the slow cooker will be ready.
In principle, after cooking, you can eat them immediately, but if you want to prepare them for the future, you will need small jars, olive oil and herbs. Pour a little oil at the bottom of each jar, throw a little chopped garlic and herbs into it, spread a layer of tomatoes, pour the butter again and put the seasonings - until we get to the top of the jar.
It must be filled completely. For taste and aroma, you can drip a little balsamic vinegar on top. Now you need to close the lids. In the refrigerator, such a workpiece can be stored for several weeks.
So quickly and easily cook dried tomatoes in a slow cooker. You will be able to appreciate them in your culinary experiments. Such tomatoes are ideally combined with pasta with tuna, complement any pizza, and are suitable as a filling for bruschetta. Various pastries are prepared with them, including Italian bread (for example, ciabatta), salads, stewed vegetables and meat. And they give each dish a unique taste and delicious aroma!