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
